Newsboys bring a unique message to Adams Center

After seeing the Grizzly basketball team suffer a 52-point loss to Portland State this season, it’s hard to imagine any “good news” coming from the Adams Center. But that is exactly what Peter Furler, lead vocals of the popular Christian pop band the Newsboys, preached through his guitar and his testimony as only an Australian preacher’s boy can Wednesday night.

Beyond the entrance to the Adams Center, instead of patting people down for alcohol and other paraphernalia, security guards kindly took tickets and greeted audience members with a “hallelujah brother” or “hallelujah sister.”

The Christian music scene continued in the halls, with folks more likely to run into youth pastors than Pysch 101 classmates. And, as the concert started, it was hard to imagine Korn opening their venues with prayer and shout-outs to local churches.

Three opening bands warmed up the stage for Newsboys Wednesday night. The first band, Article One, resembled the typical punk rock sound of mainstream Christian music. The band stood out, however, thanks to Matt Piche, who played the lead with his violin at a musical level that surpassed his fellow band members. He wowed the audience with a minute-long solo that included playing behind his back and through his legs.

Normally, the opening bands psych up the audience so the energy is peaked for the headlining band. But, at their own risk Paul Colman, lead guitarist of Newsboys, gave a 10-minute presentation seeking donations and partners for Global Tribe, a global aid agency for the world’s poor.

Then Newsboys came on showering the VIP section in confetti and singing their 1994 hit song “Shine.”

The song’s meaning is to encourage Christians to “shine the light of Jesus.” And, for $5 a pop, audience members could shine their own glow stick lights for Jesus during the show.

Newsboys offered everything you would expect from a mainstream pop band including strobe lights, three 8-by-12-foot video screens, and a drum platform that rose from the stage, tipped on its nose and spun like a top. However, unlike mainstream music, Furler offered something else during the middle of his set, a fifteen-minute testimony.

This is a difference from other Christian artists who do not preach but practice what is known as “positive message” music.

Switchfoot is a common example of mainstream Christian groups, who do not overtly preach in their lyrics, but try to influence people by how they live their lives. Their hope is that non-Christians will wonder why they live their lives differently.

The Newsboys stand on the opposite side of the spectrum, actively preaching a message during their concerts and boasting lyrics that offer little interpretation over their true message.

As lead singer Wes Willis of Rush of Fools, who immediately preceded Newsboys, explained during his set, “God gives you words and you just want to get them out there.”