Switchfoot Live - 4-27-2014
I don't normally do concert reviews but then again I haven't been going to very many concerts lately. For the past couple of years my concert experience has been limited to the WinterJam tour which I attended once again this year. Quick review of WinterJam 2014, the production was great, the mix on the sound was bad.
So I discovered Switchfoot was going to play War Memorial Auditorium and I just had to go. I have been wanting to see them for years and have always dug their music and the new album is really fantastic to me. So I got a ticket and made the trip to Nashville on a pretty dark and stormy night. I went by myself as I could not find anyone willing to make the trip with me.
Opening band the Kopecky Family Band was quite entertaining and won the crowd over after about three songs with their fun vibe and more rocking twist on folk revival music. The variety of instruments used on stage kept things interesting and the band was tight no matter what instruments were being played. They also had about a 45 minute set which I consider quite decent for an opening band. All I can say is they won a new fan and I have enjoyed their music since the concert.
Switchfoot came on stage next and showed Nashville why they have a good reputation and why so many people love their music. Even with lead singer Jon Foreman fighting off a cold the energy on stage was amazing as the band powered through both new and old songs alike.
I don't remember the entire set list exactly but all I can say is wow. The songs of their latest album Fading West were slightly heavier and even more energetic than on the album. One thing I really loved was when they would do a different arrangement of one of their classic hits. I always like it when bands try new things with older songs but at the same time miss the original versions. Switchfoot found a solution. They opened up two or three songs with vastly different arrangements, usually more acoustic than originally recorded, then at the break in the song they whole band would come back in playing the original version. It was really cool.
Jon also really let the audiance help sing the songs as we all knew the lyrics to almost every track. This may have also been due to the strain on his voice from the cold but it also added to the uniqueness of the experience. He also got out into the crowd and sang about a song and a half, and would stop to tell some stories in between songs. He really knows how to work the crowd and keep them happy. It was really a joy to see a band have so much fun on stage.
Another great thing about this show was the production values. The lights and sound were great. Switchfoot used lasers on stage to great effect as well as some LED screens in the back to show graphics, scene from their movie and add effects lighting. I remember two songs into their set thinking, wow this is already way better than WinterJam, and overall it really was.
I have been going to the touring festivals so much lately that I forgot how great a headline concert can be when done right and this one was done right. It was flat out great.
