Amy grant lyric

PEORIA - Simply put, the Amy Grant-Vince Gill "Simply Christmas" concert was simply spectacular.

Everything was perfect. The lighting, the staging and the music by the Nashville Chamber Orchestra were extraordinary.

Friday night's concert also featured one of the funniest men this critic has ever heard. Comedian Henry Cho, a "full-blooded Korean" born in Knoxville, Tenn., had the entire audience of nearly 6,000 at the Peoria Civic Center Arena in stitches during both of his segments.

And Christian and pop artist Grant and country music superstar Gill had the crowd eating out of the palms of their hands for three solid hours.

From the time they walked on stage and opened the show with "Winter Wonderland" until they left after the final encore, Gill and Grant had the crowd clapping and singing along to song after song.

During the show's first half, the couple, who were married in 2000, made their way through an amazing number of Christmas songs.

They sang everything from a pumped-up version of "Jingle Bells" and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" to beautiful offerings of Elvis Presley's smash hit "Blue Christmas" and "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts roasting on an open fire ..."), written by Mel Torme in 1947.

Grant was dressed in a stunning burgundy long dress with a white fur stole, but when Gill took the stage, this critic almost didn't recognize him.

He has gained several pounds, but he's also sporting a beard and mustache which he said "helps hide his new chins."

Maybe, but it sure hasn't hurt his ability to belt out a song. His pure high tenor voice is as fantastic as ever - and it also was the center of some good-natured jokes from his "bride."

She said her daddy was the only man in a house with four daughters and their mom. He said he couldn't wait for his girls to grow up and bring a boy home. "And I married Vince," she laughed.

But not to be outdone, Gill bantered back, "Yeah, but we live in a nice big house because I sing like a girl."

And so went the evening. The duo sang together, joked with each other and made it obvious they are very much in love.

Concertgoer Mary VanNorman said it best. "They seem so real."

During the second half of the concert, they sang a few of the hits that made them stars.

Gill got the crowd going with his hit "Liza Jane" and quickly slowed the pace with "Go Rest High On That Mountain," an emotional song he wrote in memory of his late brother.

But with all the laughter and gaiety of the evening, the "reason for the season" was not forgotten. Near the end of the show they sat on stools and told the story of Jesus' birth.

And before they left the stage, they asked the audience to sing a few Christmas carols with them. With no instrumental backing, the audience, Gill, Grant and Cho joined together in "O Holy Night" and "Silent Night."

They left the stage, but when they came back for an encore, they didn't sing one of their hits but rather a tune titled "Give Me Jesus."

It's an African-American slave song with a simple lyric, which in part says, "You can have the things of this world. Just give me Jesus. Give me Jesus."

When they finished, they left the stage without fanfare, and a simply spectacular evening came to a close.

Copyright 2004
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.