(Kyle Stevens and Rich Mullins in Grand Rapids, MI)
You could tell Rich Mullins was at home with this crowd.
"Home" may have been the operative word, as the Christian contemporary singer welcomed many acquaintances from his days five years ago as music minister at Kentwood Christian Church. Strolling through the audience of nearly 600 at Calvin College before the concert Sunday provided a chance to renew local friendships; and for Mullins it seemed as natural as living-room conversation.
After opening act Renee Garcia, the 33-year-old Mullins came on stage and played what he thinks should be the national anthem: "Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow." His keyboard echoed with the effect of a church organ. Then it was right into "Nothing But a Miracle," which led to "When You Love." They are songs from Mullins first two solo albums. It was evident from the start of the set that the sound system used by Mullins and his three-man band did not allow enough vocal quality. When his vocals were loud enough to hear, they were obscured moderate distortion.
The sound noticeably improved during the more acoustically oriented numbers and was generally better in the second half of his nearly 90-minute set. Mullins showed a nice touch on the hammer dulcimer on "Such a Thing as Glory" from his latest release, "Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth." He also dedicated a song to "Jim and Tammy, and Jimmy Swaggart" called "It Don't Do." The song hits hard at all those who don't practice what they preach.
Winning ways
Mullins looks like a likable and he is. His voice is not great; but it gets him by. His self-effacing manner won the audience over early in the evening. Not every performer does well talking on stage, let alone doing audience participation routines. But Mullins pulled it off, dividing the gathering into four sections and leading them in creating a rainstorm with sound effects. This one is hard to explain, but it works! Probably the most off-beat but fun moment of the concert was "Screen Door" done to the accompaniment of plastic cups on a wooden slab. (Yes, this one works, too!). And in yet another display of musical diversity, Mullins held forth on the mandolin, while drummer Kyle Stevens sang the lead on "What Trouble Are Giants." The band covered the Amy Grant hit "Sing Your Praise to the Lord" and rightly so. Mullins wrote it.
Mullins' own current hit, "Awesome God," turned out to be a singalong on the chorus, a familiar one to many radio listeners. The audience was on its feet, many with hands lifted. After a brief homily about loving one another and expecting Jesus' return; ' Mullins said his musical goodbyes. For his encore he chose "Elijah," a song which sees life ending in a triumph, the writer wanting to go out like Elijah in a fiery chariot.
Mullins didn't need a chariot. He left the stage to the warm cheers of friends, old and new.
