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 Concert Recap: Oct 16, Norfolk, VA Nearly 40 years ago, civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the memorable "I Have A Dream" speech as part of the historic March on Washington. King dreamed of a unification between people of all races and creeds, and desired equality amongst the masses.  The fruition of that dream has yet be fully realized and perhaps faces its greatest challenge in the church.Fast forward to now, and another revolutionary has picked up the charge to answer the call in his own way. The innovative and vision-filled Kirk Franklin has veered down unchartered territory before and has done so again. Franklin has organized the "I Have A Dream" tour which features himself and tobyMac. The aim, in Franklin's words is "to bring people together who wouldn't normally worship together." This unique tour is travelling from city to city and isn't being held in your traditional venues. "We've been to the churches and the pulpits. Now it's time to take this thing to the clubs where the people really need it," says Franklin.  With that said, Franklin and tobyMac kicked off this tour in Norfolk, VA at the Norva, an intimate venue known for housing acts such as Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, and the Insane Clown Posse.The show kicked off with Nureau proteges The Souljahz (see album review), who rocked the crowd and set the atmosphere for an awesome party. Joshu'a, Je'kob, and Rachael Washington lit the audience up with their energy and presence. They started the party with "Souljahz Don't Stop" and a remix to "The Anthem" which kept everyone dancing. Joshu'a kept the party going with his amazing lyrical flow that was accented by Rachael's sweet vocals and Je'kob's skills on guitar. It's easy to see why there are comparisons between the Souljahz and The Fugees, for they bring that same calibre of flow and energy. Souljahz ended their set with their hit "Let Go" which was highlighted by an awesome tap dance exhibition by Rachael. Now the stage was set and out came Kirk and tobyMac. The two greeted the masses and were joined by the hottest DJ on the Christian circuit, DJ Maj. (See interview with DJ Maj)  Setting the stage for an historic evening, Maj played snippets from Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech. tobyMac's crew hit the stage, featuring a four-piece band and three background singers, including Gotee's Nirva Dorsaint and Shonlock, most recently featured on DJ Maj's The Ringleader Mixtape III (see album review).tobyMac blew the audience away with tremendous energy and flat out skill. His ability to fuse hip hop, rock, and worship is unparalleled and he brought the pain (see album review). He kicked his set off with "Irene" and performed other hits such as "Jesus Freak", "I'm Yours", and "Let's Get This Party Started". The crowd was treated to Dorsaint's awesome vocals on "Somebody's Watchin' Me". Franklin joined tobyMac during "J Train", which set the crowd ablaize. From there, tobyMac went into a throwback set, where he covered several old 70's jams including"Good Time", "Le Chic", and "We are Family". He also covered other songs such as Bob Marley's "One Love" and Mary Mary's "Shackles". (See interview with tobyMac). tobyMac's dancers were two of his three background singers; and they deserve their own dance show, next to MTV's Wade Robson. The energy of this group was highlighted by Shonlock, who climbed about 25 feet to the top of a speaker and did an impromptu backflip to the stage which dropped everyone's jaws.  tobyMac performed several worship songs highlighting his church background. According to the fusion-specializing artist, "I'm not trying to take away from the heritage of the Black church or from my church. However, we should be able to get together at least once in a while." He ended his set with "Extreme Days" and left the crowd in a frenzy.Then Kirk Franklin and his crew hit the stage. Musically led by Bobby Sparks and Shaun Martin (renowned from Kim Burrell's Live project), Franklin was ready to take the party into high gear. He invited TobyMac on the stage and the two performed "Throw Yo Hands Up". From there, Franklin took the crowd into his church experience and performed "Lookin' Out For Me", which sent the audience into a period of praise and worship (see album review). He took the crowd back to the God's Property days with "My Life Is In Your Hands", which musically was updated as only Franklin can do. He moved the tempo up a bit with "Brighter Day". The intimacy of the venue allowed Franklin to have some fun with the audience as he took them to church with an impromptu old school church mix. Led by Candy West, Franklin and company rocked "Have You Tried Jesus?". Franklin then presented a medley of several slow jams including "The Storm Is Over Now", "Hold Me Now", "My Life, My Love, My All", and "Why We Sing". The medley was performed effortlessly, highlighting his arranging ability and the skills of his singers.  Ashley Gilbert lended her awesome vocals to "Lean On Me" and brought the audience and Franklin nearly to tears. With that song, Franklin admonished everyone to greet each other, talk to each other, and love each other. The sight of such a diverse audience praising God and loving each other moved Frankin to thank the audience for taking a chance on such a tour.He then moved to "He Reigns" and brought Souljahz and tobyMac out for "Stomp" and "Revolution". Without question, the tour kicked off in an amazing way and is bound to sweep the nation with a message of unity and comraderie. Add some amazing music to that and you have perhaps the hottest tour of 2003. We managed to take some quick photos from the concert evening. Lighting presented some difficulties in obtaining optimal shots, but the few below help to convey the essence of the event:            
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