Shawn Mc Donald is A Dreamy Man

Annette and I made the drive down to Wheaton, IL last night after a long work day with the intent to enjoy some amazing acoustic music, and hopefully not get lost in the process. Due to some incredibly precise directions (a shout out to Chris Stokes is in order), we indeed made it to the chapel and home again without incident. And due to some phenomenal musicians, we did indeed enjoy some music that will make me giddy for days.

Shawn Mc Donald has a unique style that just finds him playing with music like it was a toy. As write, I realize that this is what I find most endearing in musicians. He doesn't feel like he needs to stick in a style that works, just because it works. He plays with his instrument, in Shawn's case, with his voice, and makes new music with it. he doesn't whine. His songs are a joy to listen to. His lyrics are different. They're not all just a variation on the same 6 words. He writes on themes like freedom, and greed, and pride, and hunger. He's honest. He's human. He's married.

Just a few observations about Wheaton and the concert experience in general:

• College kids are young. Annette and I felt really old at this concert.
• A lot of Wheaton kids have DSLR cameras. I got to move up close during the Shawn portion of the concert and sit with them, and I felt very inferior with my Canon ELPH. In retrospect, I wish I had fiddled a bit more with the settings, because I'm not very pleased with the lighting in most of my Shawn pictures. I got some nice stills before the concert, though.
  
• I really dislike seat savers. The two girls in front of us came in, saved seven seats, then left until 5 minutes before showtime. At least there was no arguing at this show as in the past...
• A lot of Wheaton guys look like Chris Stokes.