I first stumbled across Pegtop at Cornerstone '96 around the concession stands where they were busking in the shade of a giant inflatable Cheese Steak sandwich courtesy of Subway. They joked about having just come from Promise Keepers where they had played before thousands with their tiny portable speaker and drums made out of a cookie tin and cardboard barrel. It would have been hard to have taken them seriously if it weren't because of what I had read about their exceptional songwriting and the energy of their live performance on that warm Sunday morning.
Recorded in April of this year Pegtop 5 Live captures this offbeat Minneapolis trio before a host of revved up fans in a setting so intimate you'd think you were overhearing someone's bootleg recording of the entire performance. Clocking in at 70:37 there's plenty of time for a bit of stage chatter in between songs, a duel between two "harmonicas" on "Wall of Fire," and a tasty solo by bassist R. Matt Patrick without selling short the album's fifteen tracks.
All four Pegtop studio releases are represented in one form or another, but a few classics such as "Listen Children" from their debut are missing. The previously unreleased piece "Oklahoma" is worth noting because it describes the tension of needing to forgive someone for committing a heinous crime while at the same time desiring vengeance. Only a few songs such as Bruce Cockburn's "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" have been so effective in communicating these mixed emotions before.
If you've never had a chance to see Pegtop among the concession stands of the Cornerstone festival playing their "dumpster" drums and singing passionate tunes about faith that holds up even when your world comes crashing down, Pegtop 5 Live will do the trick.
5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Steven S. BaldwinPegtop are one of the unsung heroes of the indie Christian music scene. Although they aren't pretty poster-boys like that other more famous trio, dc Talk, they are quality songwriters and performers well worth checking out. Their unique brand of alterna-folk is fun, catchy, and highly inspirational. Live marks their fifth album in four years, and serves as a sturdy bookend to the preceding…
