Over the years, delirious? have released many concert recordings.  However, the concert experience does not get any better than this, the band's only Blu-Ray release.  Thanks to the technology of the Blu-Ray disc, the video and audio quality are like they have never been before.  Watching this on your home video system is definitely the closest to feeling like you were there.

The concert presented here is the exact same concert (both the main concert and the Cutting Edge pre-show) as was on the DVD release.  For more details on the concert's video and audio content, I recommend you read both the DVD and CD review.  The only major difference is that the video is in full 1080p High-Definition.  (The audio is also presented in 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio as well as Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo, but I do not have the equipment to test the 5.1 mixes for their quality.)  The visuals of the disc are crisp and clear, even despite the tough lighting conditions that is a dark concert hall with very bright lights.  The Cutting Edge show video, which seemed a bit more compressed on the DVD, looks especially beautiful on this Blu-Ray.  The behind-the-scenes tour video included on the DVD is also included here in standard definition video.

Over the years, delirious? have done a number of live concert videos.  The first, A View From The Terraces, was a VHS-only release in the UK that later appeared on the archive:d DVD release.  It was much later in their career when Now Is The Time was recorded in Chicago and just last year My Soul Sings was released.  These DVDs were great quality, but the songs featured were mostly the band's newest material and the classic favorites were not well-represented.  Thankfully, Farewell Show is a beautiful recording of the band's last show on DVD that includes some of the new as well as plenty of the old.

To kick off the show, the band shows up on stage but behind a large curtain.  Lights from behind the band project silhouettes of them on the curtain and the crowd begins to cheer.  After lead singer Martin Smith sings the chorus of "All This Time", the lights start flashing, guitarist Stu G starts jammin', and the curtain falls.  "Bliss" is a fitting opener to the show and uses the band's impressive stage setup to full effect.  The stage features a video projection screen above the LED video wall that's become standard at today's arena concerts.  The video screen for "Bliss" features a new video retrospective of the band that also shows up on the DVD's intro briefly.  Ohh, and did I mention that there were green lasers fanning out across the stage and over the audience?  Yeah, this show is a visual tour de force.

The five guys from Littlehampton, England known as delirious? have had an amazing career.  From leading worship for a local church movement in 1992 to being a pop radio hit in Germany to playing for hundreds of thousands in Hyderabad, India, these guys have done it all.  Fall 2009 brought their farewell tour of the United Kingdom.  Thankfully, the last show of the tour, at London's iconic Hammersmith Apollo, was recorded for all of us to enjoy.  Even though delirious? have released five other live albums (including another double-disc collection), Farewell Show spans their whole 19-year career like no other.  One of my favorite parts of this release is the second disc, a 35-minute opening set of songs from the very early days of delirious?.

In my family, the Christmas season does not start after Halloween. It doesn't even start after Thanksgiving.  We usually put the Christmas tree up 3-5 days before Christmas.  In our family and at my church, the period after Thanksgiving until Christmas is called "Advent."  This time is a period of planning and preparing for the birth of Christ Jesus.  It's a time to remember the great wonder that God the Father sent his son, Jesus, to earth.

Their first album in nearly three years, Switchfoot have said Hello Hurricane has been the hardest record they have ever made. The band tracked over 80 songs out of 150 written, the end result being 12 remarkably cohesive tracks. Between the aggressive rock numbers and powerful ballads, Hello Hurricane is a solid release embodying tales of struggle and loss intertwined with the overlying theme of hope and love. Their seventh studio release, Switchfoot prove their music is as important now than ever.

Much of America these days is, as it always has been, defined by the coasts.  The East Coast is the birthplace of America and the original states as well as the worldwide leaders in fashion and commerce. The west coast brought new avenues of trade, the gold rush, and now the worldwide leaders in technology and entertainment.

Although this is the image of America that many around the world hold, there are the unsung heroes of these United States.  These more simple folks work hard just to keep food on the table for their families.  They don't go down to the club on a Saturday night; they just stop by the bar for a drink with a few friends or sit on the front porch.

Thankfully, the honoring of these unsung heroes has continued through the decades of pop music, from Woody Guthrie to Credence Clearwater Revival on through John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Petty.  One band continuing this rich tradition is Seymour, Indiana's The Elms and their latest album, The Great American Midrange.

A few years back, I remember standing in the massive crowd at Creation Festival waiting for a band by the name of BarlowGirl to take the stage. There were a group of guys standing right behind me. I remember these guys making comments about having to stand through a "chick band" so that they wouldn't lose their spot for a later set they were waiting for.

BarlowGirl's set began, and it was great as always. I couldn't help but over hear those same guys from before the show, only now the comments changed to ones such as "Dude, they were so good!" Believers they now are.

Every week at the end of performance night during 'Idol' season, I take to my cell phone and dial the voting number (which I can recite in my sleep) for my favorite contestant, along with millions of other loyal viewers. Every season I seem to have a favorite that stands above the rest, and season 6 was no different. A contestant by the name of Phil Stacey earned my loyal vote (okay, okay... VOTES) each week.  There was something very genuine and personable about him, not to mention his voice... Wow!  You know those artists you can point out within seconds of hearing a song, even if you have never heard it before?  One of those artists for me, as well as many others, is Phil Stacey.

I was sad to see him go, but he did make it into the top five out of thousands of contestants.  What an accomplishment!  As he sang his farewell song "Blaze of Glory," I knew this was definitely not the last his fans were going to see of him.

Ask most bands whether having an iconic lead singer is a good or bad thing and they'll likely tell you that it's a little bit of both. On the one hand, having a strong, readily-identified presence behind the microphone can often be just the ticket to propel a given musical collective to the very heights of commercial triumph. On the other side of the coin, though, many of those same groups have stood by and watched helplessly as fan interest fell through the floor in the wake of their vocalist's departure. Deny it as they may, the members of the Newsboys have almost surely been pondering such matters since early March, when word of lead vocalist Peter Furler's retirement from touring and recording duties (he will continue on in a songwriting and producing capacity) – and subsequent replacement by former dc Talk singer Michael Tait – was first made public.

After hit single and title track from 2006's album, Nothing Left to Lose, took off Mat Kearney found himself on the road continuously. Supporting acts like John Mayer, Sheryl Crow and The Fray as well as his own headline stints, Kearney has been making a name for himself ever since.

Three years and many traveled miles later, Kearney is back with City of Black & White. Of his release, Kearney has said it is a record about community. "There's definitely the theme of this traveling/sojourner/vagabond kind of guy landing in the midst of people that he loves, and who love him."