7th Day Fret at Luther's Table in Renton on July 15 2011

Through a friend of a friend of a friend (tack on a couple three more) I heard about a free show at a place called Luther's Table in Renton. I'd never been there but I was told we could get a reasonable dinner and listen to the music, no clue what style of music we'd hear.

The reports were accurate, they serve decent (if not outstanding) food and have some nice beer and wine selections. The band was a rock/country three piece that did several covers and an original tune.


They were well rehearsed and good musicians so they achieved a nice sound, and playing over dinner service (and an older crowd) didn't faze them, they still delivered a fun set.



The covers were OK, Green Day isn't a major favorite but they're workable. I liked the original composition best.

They ditch the slow country groove and the Billy Joe straight forward melodic vocals; his vocals sound a little edgier, different in the way they move between pitches and generally using more vibrato. Faster, a little more punk, still pretty similar to Green Day but I prefer it.

Nice show for not anything and the flat bread (sorta like a pizza) and locally brewed IPA for under $15 was a nice deal too.

Luther's Table turns out to be an interesting place that is run by volunteers and has an odd touchy-feely mission statement involving communication. It came together a little as I read some of the materials and schedules, they have both a worship night and a Theology Pub night every week. I'm pretty sure Luther's Table is an outreach program run by the Lutheran Church and I think it;s a pretty brilliant idea. The younger folk at the church have been hard to hold on to, and without them the church has no future. By providing a cool live music venue and having worship and theology nights they can keep the Lutheran kids engaged and move them forward in understanding their faith while also being able to proselytize to the public and engage people consciously around their faith.

I hope it helps make the Lutheran Church more vital to those kids, that it helps give them a sense of service and connection. A church can help you stay connected to others and offers opportunities to be of service to others. I'm not sure there's a better feeling in the world than providing something to someone who really needs it because it's the right thing to do, not for money, not for publicity, not to feel superior, just to humbly give of yourself and help make someone's life better.