With prayer on their lips and barbecue ribs on their breath, Third Day topped a Christian-rock triple bill of the jangly-pop variety Friday at the nearly sold-out Cincinnati Gardens.

        Third Day, a five-man band from Atlanta sporting an sixth guy on keyboards for the show, mixed heartland rock and modern-country pop to form the music for its sing-along anthems and ballads. Lead singer Mac Powell made many references to the crowd's knowledge of the songs and its sheer size.

        “I don't ever remember playing to this many people in Cincinnati. I didn't expect this,” he told the cheering audience of nearly 6,500, about 200 people shy of a sellout.

        He made sure not to be prideful about his band's draw: “That's not to Third Day's credit. That's to the Lord's credit.”

        Although there was nothing discernably spiritual about the first two songs, that quickly changed. “We're gonna have a good time,” Mr. Powell said. “We're gonna have some fun. But most of all we're gonna worship Jesus! This next one's called "40 Days.”' From there on out almost all the lyrics and between-song anecdotes had either an overt or thinly veiled religious message — on through the next two songs, “Show Me Your Glory” and “God of Wonders” and Mr. Powell's prayer of thanks sandwiched between them, and all that followed.

        There were two memorable secular moments. One was musical, an acoustic version of Willie Nelson's “On the Road Again” featuring the opening acts, folk-rocker Bebo Norman and Australian rock singer Paul Coleman, on vocals.

        The other involved food. Mr. Powell apologized for his burping during the performance. “I ate some ribs,” he explained. “What is it called, Montgomery Inn?” The crowd erupted. Then came his non-sequitur question, “Any Reds fans here?” The crowd responded less enthusiastically. “I think the ribs got louder applause than the Reds,” he correctly noted.

        Third Day's hour-and-40-minute act was arena-ready, and this summer we can see if it translates to Cincinnati's biggest room, when they open for the Rev. Billy Graham June 30th at Paul Brown Stadium.

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