OTS Benefit Concert – Warren, MI
Posted by Matt Xiong on May 22, 2010
Hey guys,
The concert was great and the committee raised over $2000 to help build a medical center in Vietnam for the tribal people. The drive up there wasn’t so much fun though. Pennsylvania took about 6 hours just to get through, and nobody likes traffic. We got stuck in a little bit of traffic in Connecticut, but overall it wasn’t too bad. The drive took about 15 hours, and I was blessed to have driving buddies to help keep me awake and to help me drive throughout the trip. Oh, and if you don’t already know, OTS stands for Overseas Tribal Services.
It was a very tiring weekend though! From day one, all we did was work. Well…at least from the moment KB and the Georgia crew arrived, then it was work time! They got in at around 2pm on Friday, and from there, we set up the stage and sound checked. That must have took like 4 hours alone! No joke folks…setting up and sound checking takes a long time…especially when we’re at a different place than what we’re used to and having to work with a room and soundboard that was not our own. We also had to work with the In-Ear Monitors. Each of us had in-ears, and getting each of our mixes into our ears took a while.
The next day started super early! We had to be at the church by 8:30AM to sound check. That was the schedule! The doors were opening at 5pm, so all of the bands and performers had to get in a certain amount of sound check time that morning and afternoon. Overall…everything went well. I think we took the longest to sound check, because our sound checks were really also practices! haha…I’m the only band member from a different state than the other guys. I needed to get in a few practices with the band because I had not played with them before this weekend. I think we had 8 songs planned for that night, and 8 songs for the next day for Sunday service (4 for Hmong service, 4 for English service). And we pulled it off!
Overall, it was an amazing weekend. I met some great people, and got to see some old friends! I wish we could have stayed a little longer. And though I do not miss the roads in Michigan at all, I do miss the fellowship shared with my brothers and sisters in Michigan. I didn’t even get to spend that much time with them because of the busy schedule. Anyway…here are a few pictures that summarize my experience in Michigan:
(KB and I with the guys of Unseen Belief from Portland, OR)
(Hanging out with a few friends during some down time we had)
(This is the group from PA called Paradigm)
(Working together with the OTS crew and Unseen Belief for a collaboration)
(Der Lor from Milwaukee, WI)
(KB Xiong and the band)
(Here I am)
(Unseen Belief)
(Houa Vang, KB Xiong, Savannah, Nathaniel, and me)
(the band with Savannah, Hlee, Manou, Maria, and Christine)
(here’s a shot of all of the performers, bands, and the entire team from the event)
Thank you to the staff and crew behind this concert for making it all possible! You guys did excellent putting this whole thing together and making it a memorable experience for us all. Thanks to my brother KB for letting me be apart of this experience. Thanks to Ningfue and my family from MI for providing us with hospitality and a place to call home away from our homes. And lastly, thanks to my buddies Houa and Tony for coming with me from RI. You guys helped me big time!
-Matt
