After a day of thanks, there was nothing more 4,000 fans at the Colonial Center would rather do than sing songs of praise and worship.

Especially because they were singing the songs of Third Day and tobyMac.

Third Day's "Live Wire" tour rolled into Columbia, and the arena that has hosted some big rock shows was turned into a sanctuary Friday night.

With arms raised and hearts open, the audience danced to rock, rap-rock and acoustic rock songs.

Former dctalk member tobyMac had the crowd waving its arms through his grungy Christian rap set. The guitar and turntable blistering "Slam" with a Kid Rock-style rap showed how diverse Christian music is today.

Though it was hard to hear the background singers' voices over the heavy bass, the feeling and meaning of songs such as "Irene," "J Train," "Yours" and "Love is in the House" still got through.

Third Day is the rock band of Christian music so it was fitting that the band started its set with "Rockstar" before jamming into "Sing a Song."

The band's lead singer, Mac Powell, brought two Gomers (Third Day fan club members) on stage to sing the second verse of "Come Together." As "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson would say, their singing was a bit "pitchy."

Third Day had the audience engaged throughout the set. When Powell asked to see "the lights," the fans used the backlights of their cell phones instead of holding up lighters.

"I Believe," "Show Me Your Glory" and "Anything" were moving songs, but Powell's prayer probably was the most powerful moment of the night.

South Carolina natives Overflow opened the concert and did a lot of synchronized jumping during its performance. The band's soon-to-be hit, "Forever" was co-written by Powell.