Rich Mullins Last Concert - September 13, 1997

Sing Your Praise 5:37
Bach Violin Concerto 13:36
Mitch McVicker "Here and Now" 20:39
Mitch McVicker "Only Love" 25:37
Screen Door 30:44
Step By Step 32:44
Mitch McVicker "Lemonade Song" 36:30
Homeless Man 39:40
Hard To Get 42:40
The Breaks 50:00
Song For Mary 54:54
If I Stand 55:47
Creed 1:00:42
Calling Out Your Name 1:05:38
Mitch McVicker Gospel Rain 1:12:35
John 1:23:27
Ready for the Storm 1:26:56
Eric Hauck Cello Solo 1:30:15
"No Not One" (Jesus Knows all About Our Struggles) 1:34:00
No Trouble At All 1:36:20
Awesome God 1:37:58

In September of 1997 some family friends asked my parents if they could host "a few musicians" for "a few weeks", not saying who the musicians were. My mom agreed, and Rich Mullins, Mitch McVicker, Eric Hauck and Michael Aukofer showed up a few days later. When they arrived, my mom thought Rich was joking when he told her his name!

This video was taken September 13, 1997, six days before Rich Mullins went to his home in heaven. Rich Mullins, Mitch McVicker and Eric Hauck were kind enough to perform during the Kruse's monthly "Second Saturday Sing at Seven", which is still going on to this day.

I was 16 at the time of this recording, and getting to spend time with Rich during his last three weeks was quite life changing for me. I remember the first time I met him in my living room. "Isn't Jesus amazing..." he said. It shocked me, and I agreed with him simply out of conviction. But he meant it! Also - he told me that his managers told him he "looked like sh*t". To hear that word come out of Rich's mouth kind of shocked me at the time, though I know that Rich had a reputation of speaking honestly and occasionally shocking people.

One day during those three weeks, Rich and Mitch invited my family and a couple of friends to the studio for a day. The studio was an old abandoned church in Elgin (Chicago suburb) filled with thousands of dollars of equipment, instruments and computers. I remember ash trays filled with cigarettes in the studio upstairs as Rich and Mitch were meticulously recording Mitch's first album.

I also remember showing Rich my first song that I had written. He listened intently and told me, "Not bad for a first song". Honestly, though, he was just being generous - something Rich did quite well.

One story my mom told me was when Rich came home from recording late one night and shared with her that he was going to write a new song that night. "How do you just write a song?" My mom asked. "How do you cook as well as you do?" He asked back. The next morning my mom asked him if he had written a new song last night. He then performed a finished "All The Way To Kingdom Come" for her.

This "encounter" with Rich also created new friendships. Among other amazing experiences, I have had the opportunity to work as a musician and learn from Rich Mullin's percussionist - Michael Aukofer. Michael has become an award winning international composer, and he currently leads the music program at West Ridge community church in Elgin, Illinois, where I also get to perform on a regular basis. It's amazing how a moment can alter the entire direction of our lives!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• rich mullins
• last concert
• live
• music
• awesome god
• step by step
• mitch mcvicker
• september 1997

[rukiddin1]

Hi,do you happen to know what Rich says between 48:16-48:24?Right after he says,'We want God to make us rich/wealthy and prosperous....'

[petekrusetunes]

@rukiddin1 Not too sure! Thanks for watching. Let me know if you decipher it. :)

[TheSmaxdot]

Pete, this is pretty amazing man... really a heartfelt thanks for taking the time to upload. You were just a teenager when this was shot? Just a great video....

[petekrusetunes]

@TheSmaxdot Thanks for checking it out and for the kind words. I was 16 or 17 when this was shot. My family is friends with the family that Rich was scheduled to stay at. Something came up and they couldn't host Rich, so they suggested us. They asked us if we would host "a few musicians", not saying who they were. My mom agreed, and Rich Mullins, Mitch McVicker, Eric Hauck and Michael Aukofer showed up a few days later. When Rich arrived, my mom thought Rich was joking when he told her his name!

[sbigglesby]

Thanks for sharing this wonderful video!

[gingle87]

Thank you so much for this gem! And especially for the story behind it. He was a truly inspirational man.

[sabotoged]

Love you Rich. Miss you buddy. Met you once as a kid, didn't even know who you were then, but was still impressed by you.

Later.

[dxleath]

Beautiful! How Lucky you were to have that experience!

[ldavidkruse]

Thanks for posting this Pedro. You did it right.

[winniepoohanne]

thanks for sharing this concert you did a great job and wow does God work in strange ways that always seem to work out for the best! I needed this up lifting music today thanks! My God be with you and your family

[markalward]

Wow, just wow. I had NO idea that this video existed until this morning as I sit at my kitchen table in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. I'm floored. Rich was instrumental (no pun intended) in my Christian faith and spirituality in general when I was a late teenager (I'm 33 now). While I no longer consider myself a Christian (the word has too much fundamentalist baggage for me - Rich wasn't a fundamentalist either), Rich's words and music still influence my life greatly to this very day. Thanks...

[saukeemom]

Thank you so much for sharing this. We went to see Rich several times, visited with him, enjoyed his message and music. Saw him in Bellville and didn't stay because we knew we'd see him again in a few months--a concert that would never happen as it turned out. These videos are such a gift. What a treat your family shared. Perhaps we will see you perform someday. God bless you!

[mikepag2468]

This crappy, grainy quality, poor sound video is AWESOME! One of my ATFs!! It kinda reminds me of the way Rich lived...what you saw was what you got....the real thing. Never a show, fluff or airbrushing, just raw Rich! In so many ways I think God used Rich to teach me more about His true love and how I can and should relate to him....then 30 years of sermons, bible college and Sunday school!

Very cool video and must have been great getting to know him during that time.

Thanks for sharing!

[PumpkinSeed17]

48:25-48:37

So we ask for all the wrong things and we get all the wrong things and... That's why I think it's hard for a rich person to get into Heaven, because they've been going the wrong direction so long, it's hard to turn around. You get awfully big when you have all that assurance and all that confidence and all that jazz. It's just hard to give it up to get anywhere you really want to go.