The Church Tickets

i have been a major fan. of The Church since their second album' The Blurred Crusade' and saw them about 20 years ago here in Washington DC on tour with The Blue Aeroplanes from Bristol UK, my home town. They were terrific then not so this time. The sound was badly mixed and far too loud - not good for hearing those much vaunted intricate guitar parts. This is unusual at the Birchmere as the acoustics and PA are normally excellent. The new album sounded very dreary, quite one dimensional and the band's playing never really jelled. Lots of guitar noodling and tuneless singing unfortunately. After the break they played 'Priest=Aura' and at last they sounded almost like The Church of memory but by this time we'd had about enough and left after 5 more songs as the sound was still not great. It's upsetting to write a negative review of a band that I've liked for years and who still sound terrific on CD - perhaps they just had an off night, hope it was just that and I wish them well.

Drove up to the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA to see these guys. Never seen a show there before. It is a beautiful venue, very eclectic and colorful. You'll be amazed walking through the wall of fame containing autographed pictures of the many artists that have performed there. Ranging from superstar (Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings) to maybe not so super (Bacon brothers?). Anyhoo, the guys were their usual selves performing. Playing 3 entire albums from start to finish is both innovative and impressive. Although I love all their albums, Starfish does hold a special place in my heart as it came out the year I lived in the Outer Banks and it always reminds me of being at the beach. Steve is a great singer, but Marty absolutely rocked the bejesus out of many of the songs. He gave a rockier edge to nearly all the Starfish songs that just made listening to them an entirely different experience. Tim on drums and Peter were also great as usual. My only problem was sitting too close. The sound was a bit muddied and very loud. I found standing in the back sounded better. If you are going to the Birchmere, I would suggest sitting aways back to avoid this.

3 albums from 3 decades - what a concept and the band pulled it off to marvelous effect. It was a night of beautiful music as the Church played for well over 3 hours. They're not slowing down one bit, just an amazing effort and an amazing night of poetic genius.

I've seen the Church several times now, and this was hands down the best show I've ever seen them perform. They play the albums in the order listed, and it's sectioned into 3 parts - each album performed with a fifteen minute intermission between each one. Even if they'd only played one our of the three sets, it would have been a concert worth attending. I was worried they'd be tired by the end of the performance, but they seemed to save most of their energy for Starfish. The absolute highlight for me was when they played Reptile. The live performance was ten times better than the album version. The only bad thing is that now I'm not sure I will ever see a Church show as good as that one.

Great show but will never go to the Birchmere again. It may be OK for some bands, but the Church's music, which is multi-layered and rich, didn't come off well at this place. I've seen the Church dozens of times, including the much better State Theater in Falls Church, and they are the best concert band I've ever seen, highly recommend.

Three decades in 3 Classic Albums: Untitled #23, Priest=Aura, & Starfish all performed in their entirety in one night! Sound had problems during first album, but they fixed it after a few songs. Marty changed guitars like 4 times in 1 song during the problems phase. They had some kid playing keyboards and/or extra guitar when various songs required it. Anchorage took like 7 people, including the blonde Asian chick I thought was a roadie at past shows, but is apparently also the female backup singer. She had a Asian-style fan, too. Marty is pretty cleaned up compared to last year. Expensive place, the Birchmere. Carolyn, Mark, & I split 3 items of food, but between a pitcher, 2 beers, and the food, we spent $90. Plus tickets and a CD Mark bought that was one of the 3 missing Church releases that I don't have. Brought my Destination 12-inch vinyl single but nobody came out for signing afterward; long long concert is tiring I guess. The songs alone add up to 2 hours and 40 minutes, not counting the intermission.

Our first time to see The Church. We loved them!!!

The Church played the expected amazing,otherworldly and almost flawless (a couple of very minor sound problems with Marty's amp) live versions of the 3 albums representing the 3 decades of making records. Brilliant! Superb! Spot on!

Great concert | Great concept. There was definately something here for everybody. More recent fans loved the Untitled #23 set and I'm sure the band appreciated the chance to present their latest work to their audience. Diehard fans were mesmerized by P=A. Most songs played live for the first time Pop fans were well served with the Starfish set - UTMW, Reptile, Antenna, etc. Highlights from each set IMHO: Untitled - Happenstance, On Angel Street, Anchorage P=A - Aura, Mistress, Disillusionist, Chaos Starfish - Destination, Spark, Hotel Womb

The show had some minor technical glitches, and the first song seemed more like a warm-up. However, nothing could really go wrong as long as these four guys are onstage rocking out. They're not the kind of band that make you want to start a pit, get freaky with someone, hate your dad, drop X and dance all night...no, this is a band best taken in by careful listening and appreciation for artistry and teamwork. They are just way better than most because of the fact that they are NOT rock stars and DON'T care to be. The show was chock full of appreciation by the band for the audience as much as by the audience for the band. Their most recent album, Untitled #23, was played first, and to anyone in the know, the consistent quality of their vision and artistry was made immediately apparent. As if to drive the point home and show what they've been on about all this time, the fan favorite Priest=Aura followed. Though in my view it's not their strongest album, I was clearly in the minority in this regard, and in any case, it was much better played live. The show closed with the 10 songs from Starfish, which for many U.S. fans was the album that drew us in. The band cut loose, leaning into even the softest numbers with intensity, knowing full well what a treat it was for the audience to hear this album performed before them. It was a great, and appropriate, finish. I'm truly blessed and privileged to have been there to see it, and will treasure the memory of this show for as long as my brain still works right.

This was not a show but a sharing glimpse of these musical warriors heart and souls. You could feel from the first chord they were serious and understood the relevance of this tour. They gave it all and left nothing to suspect. It was obvious they rehearsed and proudly performed with their best guitars, amps and gear. Something they sometimes leave at home... If you get a chance to see this show do not miss these masters of the mood. America still needs to fully understand these boys impact on modern music.

An awesome display of musicianship by one of the most highly underrated bands of all time. Loved the music and the band.

This was a must-see show for the fans, finding the Church in full electric mode, the opposite of the stripped down acoustic approach of their most recent previous visit to our city. This format allowed us to see songs that normally wouldn't make the set list get performed, some for probably the first time ever (as there was no official tour for the "Priest = Aura" album.) The band was in great shape, Peter in fact looking trimmer and happier that I can recall ever seeing him. The sound board set up was not perfect, but if your were directly in front of the stage, it didn't matter much, as you could hear the guitar amps directly. For a couple of the longer, more lyrics heavy songs, Steve needed to refer to notes to get the words right, but this did not detract form the performance at all, especially on "Anchorage", where they brought out a second base player (a roadie?) along with Marty's Ric base, plus two guitars, drums, and even Tiere adding backing vocals. You can find much of this show on youtube now to get a taste of what it was like. I expect it to only get better as the tour progresses.