There's something to be said for smaller, more intimate concerts. When I first saw Third Day live, it was part of their 1996 tour with Seven Day Jesus and All Star United at a small festival in Hatfield, PA. But I later saw Third Day on some other smaller tours (i.e. not in an arena), like their Time Tour in 2000 at Hershey E-Free Church in Hershey, PA. Seeing the band perform on a church stage seems almost like a foreign concept, especially at this stage in the game. But fear not, fans; this fall run of dates (it's not quite an official "tour") doesn't mean the band has fallen on hard times and needs to be demoted to smaller venues; it's quite the contrary. But the band has decided to get back to the basics for the fall of 2013 to bring their show to a more intimate setting once again.

On November 1st, the Peckville Assembly of God Church in Blakely, PA saw a packed house with wall-to-wall concertgoers filling the seats for a Friday night rock show. While the attendance was all for seating, some extra attendees lined the walls, truly making the sanctuary feel a bit cramped, but it just added to the old school feel of the show. Third Day packed as much of their production as possible onto the small church stage (but not as much as they would have liked), still presenting a pretty big light show despite the fact. The guys walked out on stage to the Jason Bourne theme by Moby and took their places to open their set with "Kicking and Screaming" from their latest album, Miracle. They pumped the rock up a tad for "Make Your Move" and "Tunnel," both complete with impressive guitar solos from Mark Lee. At this point, Mac paused to talk about a cold he was suffering, but aside from the occasional visible moments where he stepped back from the microphone to clear his throat a couple times during the night, you otherwise could not tell he'd been plagued with any kind of ailment. His voice sounded solid. The encouraging "Revelation," from the album of the same name, and Offerings II's "You Are So Good to Me" were next, followed by "Trust In Jesus." Mac then took a moment to talk about how this "tour" was an attempt to get back to their roots as a piano was rolled onto the stage next to him. Scotty Willbanks stepped out from behind the piano at the back of the stage to take center stage with Mac. Everyone else left the stage, except for Lee, leaving Mac, Mark and Scotty alone to perform an acoustic set. They started with "Morning Has Broken" and then played a Third Day classic in "Show Me Your Glory," before playing the hymn "Blessed Assurance" and their radio hit "Cry Out To Jesus." Everyone got to their feet for the full band's return to the stage for Time's "Your Love Oh Lord" and then Third Day threw the audience a unique curve ball. A thick gospel rendition of a snippet of "Come Together" served as an intro into "I Got A Feeing," for which Mac "recruited" the audience as background singers. The acoustic ballad "I've Always Loved You" was next, followed by the worshipful "God of Wonders" and the band's own "Children of God." Everyone then sat down and Mac introduced the band before sharing the emotional true story (about someone who went to commit suicide but heard "Cry Out To Jesus" on the radio and turned their life around) that inspired their latest hit, "I Need A Miracle." After performing that song, the audience rose to their feet for the set's finale, "Creed."

But, as you can imagine, a generous 17-song set isn't quite all Third Day can offer, and the band returned one last time for two encore songs, starting with "Your Love Is Like A River" from Miracle. Mac took a moment to briefly talk about World Vision and then the guys launched into the infectious rocker "OtherSide," featuring DecembeRadio's Brian Bunn on the pedal steel guitar. The guys waved goodbye and left the stage for an announcement about World Vision and that they would be taking the rare opportunity to sign autographs for everyone after the show.

There's a lot to like about big concerts in a larger setting with a diverse line-up of tour supporting artists, but you also can't go wrong with the smaller shows that offer a much more personal feel. So while Third Day is planning on some big Spring tours in 2014 (more news on that soon!), don't miss these smaller sets that offer something truly special for Third Day and music fans alike!