Joel Auge – “On The Blue” CD release show

I went down to Oakville on Sunday night to see Joel Auge at his CD release show. You might know Joel as the lead singer of Capstone and then fronted sixdays/Hewit for a few years too. He’s now signed as a worship artist with Integrity and his CD is out in Canada this week and next month in the US. He’s getting tons of buzz from Integrity and is already booked to play lots of the bigger conference and events that happen in worship world.

The release show was at The Meeting House – basically a warehouse-turned-theatre – and it was the first time I’d been there for a live event. The room was too big for the crowd that had gathered but it didn’t seem awkward – probably because most of the people there were from The Meeting House (Joel’s church) and already knew each other. The room itself is pretty impressive – I’d guess 800 seats with really nice-sounding PA. The stage is a good size for the room and gave the bands enough room to be comfortable during the show. There are two main screens in the room which were used for lyrics as well as a couple of quick video promos shown during Joel’s set.

I got there at about 7:15 with my daughter Avery and just as we walked in the opening band was being introduced. I recognized my friend Kieran who was leading a band of jr. high and sr. high students. They played a good set of 4 covers and pulled it off really well – their medley/re-working of Lifehouse’s “Everything” and “Fix You” by Coldplay was pretty interesting. They also did a really solid cover of Switchfoot’s “Awakening”. Overall I was pretty impressed with the band – they definitely did not sound like your typical jr./sr. high church band.

After their set Joel was introduced. The label has put together a promo video to introduce Joel and his music to people and they played some of the video that had him talking about making the record, a bit of his personal story, etc. It was a good way to start.

Joel and his band played three songs off his new record which were very solid. Joel is an incredible songwriter and I’ve always thought his songs sound “natural” – the melody, lyrics and structure all sound like they just rolled out of Joel’s guitar together. After the first three songs there was some Q&A with the MC where Joel got to talk a little bit more about his life, his ministry and his new record before coming up with the band to do a handful more songs.

After showing another quick video clip – Joel talking about the song “On The Blue” and where it came from – the band came up to close with two more songs and then Joel ended the show on his own with “On The Blue.”

Overall, it was a very solid night. Joel is an incredible singer, very entertaining and engaging. His band was incredible and the audio mix in the room was pretty impressive considering how empty it was.

The songs off of “On The Blue” are already getting some attention and some good radio play. The combination of great songs and Joel’s personality made the evening fun, relaxed, entertaining and just a really good time. Having my daughter there and seeing some old friends made the night a big success.

Joel’s CD is in stores in Canada now and coming out in the US on July 1. Tracks are also on iTunes and “So Deep In Love” is a free download in the iTunes US store – pretty cool promo.