The final act of the night was a family group (four or five brothers) who had a sort of heavy metal tone to them. I don't know if their songs were original or if they were covering others but one thing is certain - they could rock. Toward the end of the show they were on a long jam session - one of those songs where the different members of the band get to show off what they can do. It was good.
At one point the lead singer brought it all back together and the volume was amped way up. I remember the guy screaming into the microphone something to the effect of "Put your hands together for Jesus, get up on your feet!" Spontaneously, everyone stood up and the band proceeded to light it up. The song was back and forth with the audience something to the effect of:
[lead singer] JUST GIMME A "J"!
[crowd] "J"!
[lead singer] JUST GIMME A "E"!
[crowd] "E"!
and so on as we spelled out the word "Jesus" and then it tipped over and we did:
[lead singer] NOW WHO'S YOUR LORD?
[crowd] JESUS!
[lead singer] WHO'S YOUR MASTER?
[crowd] JESUS!
etc.
Trust me, ALL CAPS are warranted here to relate the experience.
This back and forth went on and on for a few minutes. We were literally doing the heavy metal concert head bang with our hands over our heads. I don't remember if an actual "mosh pit" formed or not, but it sure could have. My wife and I had been bantering during the night that we felt like the only Catholics in the place (of course not true) and when everyone stood up, just before it went deafeningly loud, I said to my wife (tongue in cheek) "Get up and pray with the Protestants!"
I think it was midnight when the concert ended and we got home late. The next morning I had my early Eucharistic Adoration hour (5 AM). It was a surreal experience as the song from the night before was still echoing in my head in the silence of the chapel:
[whisper] "just gimme a 'J', just gimme a 'E'..."
It's a big church.
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