Colorado Springs, CO
1999 © CCM Magazine, Steve Rabey

Ten years ago, three former students from Jerry Falwell's Liberty University named Toby, Michael, and Kevin released an inauspicious debut album called DC Talk.

In the years since then, Falwell has gained renown for a series of controversial media soundbites, while his musical alumni have gone on to become one of Christian music's best selling and most critically acclaimed bands, achieving surprising success with their unique mix of rock-solid Christian convictions and soaring musical creativity.

Set List: - Supernatural remix - Dive - Jesus Is Just Alright / Hello Good-bye - It's Killing Me - Consume Me - Colored People / Give Peace A Chance - My Friend (So Long) - Since I Met You - Godsend - Between You And Me - What If I Stumble - Into Jesus - My Will - 40 / My Deliverer / Awesome God - DJ Form interlude - Wanna Be Loved - Disco Set (spotlighting tour band) - Rap (including Heavenbound) - Day By Day - Alas My Love (poem) / What Child Is This - In The Light - Supernatural - Red Letters - Jesus Freak

Always known for high-energy concerts, the trio's 1999 "The Supernatural Experience" tour, which landed at Colorado Springs' World Arena in early February, demonstrates that dc Talk remains Christian music's most riveting concert performer.

The mostly under-21 audience members standing in the two-thirds-full arena were so entranced by a large on-stage-screen -- which was pulsating with vivid historic photos, cartoon clips and psychedelic images -- that they didn't even notice Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait and Kevin Max standing on a small, second stage in the middle of the arena floor, where they sand the opening verses of "Dive" before heading down the long walkway to the main stage. Here, they joined a tight five-piece band and a scratching DJ for an entertaining evening focusing on songs from 1998's Supernatural and 1995's Jesus Freak.

It would be another two hours before the band sang Supernatural's title song, with its straightforward chorus of "God is there." But God's supernatural presence was a recurring theme throughout the show, from the big screen which displayed the words "God is here" to the band's between-song patter to McKeehans post-encore talk about how we can all have an encounter with God that's more real than anything on "The X-Files."

The band mixed Christian and general market hits throughout the evening, inserting passages of the Beatle's "Hello Good-bye" after the Doobie Brother's "Jesus Is Just Alright," tossing a few lines of John Lennon's "Give Peace A Chance" at the end of their racial reconcilliation anthem "Colored People" and throwing out snippets of songs like KC and the Sunshine Band's "That's the Way (I Like It)" and Chic's "Le Freak" durring a too-brief disco interlude.

The trio made frequent use of the long walkway, stopping to shake hands with the euphoric young audience members. And a brief "Unplugged"-style mini-set on the arena's second stage gave songs like "What If I Stumble" an intimate ambiance. Some audience members even raised their hands and sang along durring the band's renditions of U2's Psalm-inspired "40" and Rich Mullins' "Awesome God."

But it was dc Talk's high-energy hits and its members' intense synergistic chemistry that most came to see, and few looked disappointed. In fact, many stood or danced through most of the lengthy set and failed to care when Kevin Max forgot to sing the second verse of "Wanna Be Loved," a lapse that provided comedic relief to the often intense concert.

Dove-nominated warm-up artist Jennifer Knapp's literate an folk-flavored songs took on a much more hard-edged tenor, thanks to her aggressive three-piece band, which at times drowned out her passionate vocals and acoustic guitar.

The audience gave a warm welcome to The Ws, a six-member outfit which opened the evening with a driving mix of swing and rockabilly. Though a bit rough around the edges, the group's enthusiastic performance got moms and dads dancing.

But clearily, it was Toby, Michael and Kevin who won over the World Arena crowd with their winning combination of masterful musical chops, no-compromise Christian testimony, readings from the Bible and down-home winsomeness. By the time dc Talk closed the evening with the no-holds-barred version of "Jesus Freak," many in the audience seemed more exhausted than the band.