Christian Music - Past and Present

Last night my daughter and I went to a Newsboys concert that was happening close to our home. And my mind went back to what Christian concerts used to be. I said to my daughter "I wish you could have seen Rez Band at Cornerstone 1984, or Steve Taylor in the 80's." Rather than sound like a ranting old man "Back in my day..." I told her the groups didn't have a lot of flashy technology, they were lucky they had lights.
I went to a few Phil Keaggy and Randy Stone hill concerts, where it was just them and an acoustic guitar. This concert was showy, videos, moving lights. I don't fault the artists or the producers. This is what the audience expects and what they paid for. They want a show. This is the post MTV and current Spotify generation after all. It was a good experience and I enjoyed it, but it was different.
The audience was made up of people older and younger than me, quite a variety. I am the kind of person that likes to enjoy the music and the experience, to soak it all in. So, I usually just sit or stand and enjoy the music, I look at the technical aspects sometimes, the key of the song, what effects are being used, song transitions, And the sound frequency range is much broader with live music than any recording.
There is something about just being there.
Most others might not notice these things, they just want to see a live show and have fun. And I can understand and appreciate that. Sometimes being a musician is a curse, being too analytical and nit-picky is not always a good thing.
But, like I said I enjoyed it, and I am glad I went.
But, there are times I long for a simpler time. When it was just about the music, not so much the production. Being with the maybe 800 people enjoying Rez band at the first Cornerstone Festival in 1984, or seeing Marty McCall and Fireworks at a small venue, and Larry Norman at his peak. Like Billy Joel says "Those days are gone forever, I should just let ' em go but. . ."
Good memories are like good friends that you can go back and visit any time you want.
So, the Christian music industry will continue, and productions will get bigger, and louder, and more elaborate, and I will still attend. But, part of me just wants to back to the one guy with the acoustic guitar again. Maybe just one more time.