Back by popular demand, The Listening is returning to Sequim for the fifth time since 2002, when the band first visited as The Rock ‘n’ Roll Worship Circus.
The last concert was in 2006.
"We wanted to offer this again for several reasons," said organizer David McHugh. "First, is the connection the band has always had with the Sequim audience; the response has always been tremendous and (the) feedback from those attending has been so positive."
"Second," McHugh continued, "is the great opportunity for the church to step outside of itself a bit and offer folks another way to experience the love of Christ; the music simply rocks."
With never-before-heard songs and a fresh lineup, frontman Gabriel Wilson leads the way in an exciting new chapter for the band, performing at Sequim Community Church Sunday, Nov. 9. Admission is free.
Five "church families" paid all the concert expenses. "We felt strongly that cost should not be a barrier for anyone considering attending," McHugh explained.
The band’s most recent project, a "pre-release" CD titled "Transmission 1," features four new songs and showcases a strong melodic sensibility framed within the familiar dark tones that The Listening is known for. Copies of the mini-CD will be available for sale at the concert.
The new songs are a sample of the vast collection of material that Wilson and the rest of the band have been crafting. Nearly 30 songs are still in the making, with a full-length release slated for 2009.
The band has been compared to Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Radiohead, Sigor Ros, Elliott Smith, The Dandy Warhols, Air and U2.
Wilson, vocalist and guitarist, tries his best to describe the band. "It’s not a ‘rock show’ per se, but an ‘experience’ that includes rock and roll music. It’s enveloping, tragic, ambiguous and healing," he said in a recent press release. "It’s an experience from beginning to end. One song flows into another and hopefully the listener feels something bigger than himself. It’s not just a musical experience but rather a spiritual one."
Wilson sees the phenomenon as an answer to an inner need in both the audience and the band. "I believe that people come to experience something outside of them when they come to The Listening," he continued in the press release. "They’re brought to a place of introspection, getting in touch with their souls and the struggles within."
On the road again
The Listening, a modern-rock band influenced by bands like Pink Floyd, the Beatles, Radiohead and U2, is performing at Sequim Community Church, 1000 N. Fifth Ave., in Sequim at
8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9. Admission is free. For more information about the band or to listen to a sample of the music, go online to www.myspace.com/thelistening.
