for KING + COUNTRY's "A Drummer Boy Christmas" LIVE
2024 has been quite a year for the Brothers Smallbone, what with the release of their feature film, Unsung Hero and all that has come with that. Why not wind up the year with a concert?
I’ve always wanted to see a For King & Country concert. I’ve listened to them for years, as well as to their older sister, Rebecca St. James, who is about my age, but they don’t come out to California all that much, so a filmed concert is the next best thing, and A Drummer Boy Christmas is quite the eye-opener.
The show is a nice mix of Christmas standards and new originals, which is refreshing. The lighting is truly impressive, as is the blocking. Everyone in the show is all over the place, and everything, from Luke and Joel, to the band, to the lighting, to the camera angles, and there are cameras everywhere, are timed down to the minute and perfectly coordinated. There’s even a camera on top of a concert bass drum that Joel drags across the stage late in the set.
Drummer’s action isn’t confined to stage level, either—they had a round raised platform that took them, as well as the band, up level with the nosebleed seats and two smaller cages the size of phone booths. Everyone in that arena got their chance to be up close and personal.
The structure of the concert is just as methodical because the show is divided into segments, which bring different aspects of Christmas into focus, such as motherhood, why the coming of Jesus is important, and what we carry with us as a result of the Christmas season. They even have texts for all the different chapter breaks, which seemed slightly needless because everything flows so nicely, but they allow for the marking of time.
What was also fun was the plethora of opportunities for the audience to sing along. Well, the audience at the actual concert, anyway. Sitting in the darkened screening room, I glanced at the assorted strangers around me and wondered if anyone would dare give out. If they did, I couldn’t hear it, and for my part I felt a little funny going beyond some tentative humming.
No one held back on the applause, though. We clapped after several of the numbers, and it was fun hearing people react. It’s impossible not to, seeing as the musicality and presentation were so well-done, plus there are drums. Lots and lots of drums. I’ve been to tons of concerts, but I don’t think I’ve seen as many percussion instruments on a single stage as on that one. That, plus the mashup of synth and acoustic, including cello and violin, give everything a great texture.
And yes, the title song is saved for the end. That’s not really a spoiler because “Drummer Boy” is an inevitability. Those who may not care for the song may want to take a second listen, because Joel and Luke’s version goes way beyond the pa-rum-pa-pum-pum we’re all used to. Who knew it was possible to create a symphony of drums?
It’s an oddly intimate experience watching a concert in a movie theater. It’s bigger than a concert would be because it allows the audience to see the show from angles that aren’t possible in a live setting. On the other hand, it’s being there without being there. The headliners are larger than life, but we’re not in the room with their actual selves, so how do we act?
If a show is as good as A Drummer Boy Christmas, just seeing it is completely worth it.
for KING + COUNTRY’s “A Drummer Boy Christmas” Live is currently in theaters. Not rated.
My grade: A+
Principal Cast: Joel Smallbone, Luke Smallbone, Gabe Baker, Vincent DiCarlo, Chris Karabelas, Danny Lopez, Garret P. Tyler, Hannah Tyler, Phoenix Smallbone.
Directed by Joel David Smallbone and Kadin Tooley.