| Thursday, May 10, 2007 |
| "No, it's life giving." (Springfield concert review) |
Doug Stern, VideoStatic's (the music-video authority on the web) music-video pro has posted a review of the "Awakening" video, as per my request. "...the group's freewheeling, low-ego spirit comes across on-screen..." Check it out, it's pretty awesome. Thanks, Doug!
Site updates: The RSS feed is back up and running, with posts being sent out (in their entirety) by email every morning for subscribers. Also, many of you reported that the preview to the "Revenge" post was a broken link. It's fixed now. I decided to use MS Word to work on the post, instead of Blogger's editor (which caused the broken link).
Rebecca V. emailed us an interesting blog on "Awakening" a while back. She also emailed us a concert review of the Springfield show on 4/16, posted below (click "continue reading" at the bottom of the post if you don't see it)... Thanks Rebecca!
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A concert review... by Rebecca V.
My journey began around 4:30, leaving my house on the way to the bank and a lovely deli called McAllister's. We decided to stop at the bank for obvious reasons, but we stopped at McAllister's to get the guys some real tea, McAllister's "world" famous sweet tea.
My mom and I arrived at the venue around 5:30 and got a decent spot in line. We were probably 30 or so people back, but it turned out alright in the end. My mom went to ask some of the people in charge whether or not we could bring the guys the tea and lemonade we had gotten them, and so one of the event supervisors took us back to the tour bus. Their tour manager named Jeff took the drinks, and Chad the drummer came out. I was literally shaking, and was kind of taken by surprise. I wasn't sure who would've come out, but I was definitely very happy to see him. He was a lot taller and thinner than I had remembered him, but at the same time it had been almost two years since I had last seen him. We got a picture and he thanked me for the sweet tea saying "Now we'll be awake for the concert!"
I went back in line and was still kind of shaking. I had just met one of my heroes! My mind kept drifting back to when I first started liking the band. Switchfoot has become a lifeline for me; their music has gotten me through rough times. I know a lot about the band, and I’ve dedicated part of my life towards giving back to them, and becoming involved with causes that I’ve come to know through them. Jon Foreman, the lead singer and guitarist, has earned the right at the very top of my heroes list. He is an activist, and he really does change the world.
Soon, they finally were about to open the doors, so they had us line up in two lines. I got in rather quickly and my mom and I rushed to the stage. I was able to get directly in front of Tim, front row. I could not have been happier. The area in front of Jon and Jerome was basically completely taken, but that was ok. To my delight my mom went and sat in the chairs that lined the floor, so I was alone up at the front to take in the concert on my own. I realized then that I was very happy that none of my friends had come. I could enjoy the concert for what it was, not worrying about them, just standing there singing along with the band who I'd grown to love so much. After a long time of waiting, Reeve Oliver came out. They were pretty good, and fun to listen to talk; you could tell they were having fun. As my friend Natasha had warned me before they came on, they would talk about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and of course, the drummer had a custom drum set with all of the TMNT on it. The bass player introduced all of the five TMNT as his friends too. It was so funny. They had a nice set, not my favorite because I felt that all the songs sounded the same, but you could definitely get into them. During a break of their set, they thanked Switchfoot for letting them come on tour and play before them. "I like that they're here with their tight jeans and bass lines." The highlight was when they played their last song Jon came out and started singing with Sean (lead singer). I didn't recognize him because I really didn't expect it. Then I saw his face when he turned around, and it clicked. I was star struck for about 10 seconds, and then kind of freaked out. Sad right?
Breakdown and setup took forever. But once Jeff put Tim's set list down, I definitely cheated and took a picture of it with my camera. I was so thrilled with the set list. They were playing all the songs that had really affected my life. Here's how Tim’s set list was written:
Stars
Gravity
Ammo
Amateur Lovers Company Car
Dirty Second Hands
Meant To Live
This Is Your Life
Breathe
Sorrow
Chem 6A
Gone
American Dream
Politicians
One Tonight
Faust
Shadow
Awakening
The list did not go completely as planned. Faust was played after Awakening, and then they added Dare You To Move after that. They added in Yesterdays after Sorrow. Well, onto the concert. They came out, and man I was excited. The first two songs FLEW by, and were so amazing live. Tim and I made eye contact a couple times, and smiled because I definitely was getting the music and having fun. I hope he recognized I was not one of the teenyboppers standing to the right of me. I'm sure he did, I never missed a word. Dirty Second Hands was especially amazing, and definitely my favorite song they played. They completely rocked it out. At the end of it Jon said "I know it's going to be a good night, I'm already bleeding." This Is Your Life was my second favorite song they played live, Jon screaming into his guitar pickups gave me such chills. That's something I always have wanted to experience in person. Before he played Sorrow, Jon talked about the Virginia Tech shootings. “This song for me is kind of a cleanser. This day has been kind of a roller coaster. I don’t know if you guys have been watching the news, and kind of been glued to what has been going on in Virginia, but for me I don’t really know what to make of it, when events like that happen. For me music is a vehicle to maybe start there and go somewhere else.“ Jon's cover of Sorrow is one of those songs that comforted me when I cannot sleep, and I've become dependent on it. I had tears in my eyes when he played it, and afterward when they decided to add Yesterdays in I stopped singing along and just listened and watched. Yesterdays is a song about death, and was basically dedicated to Virginia Tech. Jon wrote it with Tim, and it could've been my imagination but I think Tim's eyes were a little watery. It's such a great song, and I'm so glad they made it faster--as Tim says, it really does “take you somewhere.”
Chem 6A was a great way to get back into a happier mood. Gone was amazing too, and the pause in American Dream was insanely amazing. It seriously looked like time had stopped. They played Politicians and then We Are One Tonight. The Shadow Proves The Sunshine was so moving, I was just disappointed I could not see Jon in the crowd for a good part of the song. During this song, he came over and walked on the railing in front of me. Such a cool moment, though he dripped sweat on the crowd, including me, it was totally fine. I kept imagining him falling off the railing like he had at another show that had made their video podcast, but the crowd definitely helped him along. Drew created the set list, and did such a great job with it. Awakening as the concluding song was amazing. I could not have asked for a better ending, but of course we all screamed "One more song!" They came out and gave us two. They played Faust and Jerome and Chad were playing tambourines. I have no idea what Chad was using to hit his, but it made an amazing sound. The teenyboppers to the right of me ruined the song when Jon was singing "My wife was at the door, with a night robe on." They started screaming at that part louder than any other. It was so disrespectful, I was about to hit them. They ended with Dare You To Move, and that was a great ending song too. The concert was breathtaking, I could not have asked for anything better.
I had asked one security guard before the show for Tim’s set list at the end of it, but he said no. So I begged a different security guard for Tim's set list and got another straight out "no". Jeff to the rescue! Two seconds after I asked the guard Jeff handed the security guard two set lists (though not any of the guys') and so the security officer immediately handed me one since I had asked him. After the concert we stopped by the merchandise table and bought the necessities. My mom already got a Bootleg, so we gave the case back and got the CD. I bought a jacket and a poster. I met another boardie (Kathyrne) who I hadn’t gotten to talk to, and she was very nice. We went outside to wait for the guys to come out. Jon came out after about five minutes, and I got my T-Shirt, from my first concert under the Arch, signed. I had met all of the other guys of Switchfoot except Jon, so I needed his signature to make it complete. I told him I had waited almost two years for it. My mom was in charge of camera duties, and of course she didn't know how to work it. She accidentally kept the strap over the flash, which made a nice dark spot in the middle of the picture. Jon said "I break these things a lot". Luck should have it, my camera battery died. A guy that was next in line took one for me and said he'd send it to me, which was very nice. As Jon went on through the crowd I heard him mention something about the MudHouse, an AMAZING coffee shop a few blocks down. There were rumors of an after show, and as luck should have it there was! None of the other guys had come out so we went to get the car and head over there because Jon had just left to walk there with a few followers. We got there pretty soon after that, I'm not sure if I missed maybe more than one song. I sat right in front of Jon, and man it was amazing to think there's my hero, sitting on the couch right in front of me. I forget what the first songs they played were, but it was awesome. Sean (lead singer of Reeve Oliver) and Jon played a Reeve Oliver song and then a Sea World song, which they got everyone involved in. I asked Jon if I could make a request, and he said "sure." I asked him if he would play Somebody's Baby, to which Sean said "Wow I thought I was a fan, I have no idea what that song is." Jon kind of looked at me like I was crazy, but it was more like he was probably wondering where the heck I had heard of that song. He had only started playing it a month ago, and had only played two times before. But he explained the song to everyone, looking at me a lot while doing so (considering I requested it). He played it, and gosh, the song live is so breathtaking. It is my favorite song Jon has ever written. The way he played it was so caring and thoughtful, it was simply perfect. After that I cannot completely remember what else he sang, but I do know he played Revenge and 24. They played 24 last, and Drew played along with it. I didn't notice him come in, and Andy, their photographer, was with him. I got a picture with Drew afterwards and then the most amazing conversation I've
ever heard in my life took place.
I thanked Jon for playing a coffee shop show for us, and he shook my hand
for the third time that night and said it was no problem. Then my mom said
this: "Thank you so much, playing a show and then this, you must be exhausted." Jon quickly replied, "No, its life giving."
 Shadow Proves the Sunshine
Jon had been my hero to begin with, but that sealed it forever. His songs have forever touched my life, and I honestly don't know where I would be without them. He was so easy to talk to, and so thankful for everything. I could not believe when I first saw him that night that it was him. While I sat directly across from him on the floor, I couldn't believe I was in the same room with him, let alone had a conversation with him. Jon is one of the best people I have ever met, and words can't express how much I owe him, and all of Switchfoot. This concert was absolutely perfect. In my opinion, Switchfoot can't hit a wrong note. Jon said during the concert that at the end of the night we're still all family. They have found the perfect balance for a band. I was very sad that I didn't get to meet Tim, because if I have I would've told him this. This concert was more of a reassurance for me, and was greatly needed. Hearing these songs live played by the people that wrote and perfected the songs with everything they believe in makes it so much truer to me than it already was. Switchfoot will be my favorite band for the rest of my life.
(To see more pictures from the show, click here.)Labels: concert reviews. |
posted by Philemon Thomas @ 7:30 AM  
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| 13 Comments: |
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Love this recap. Your heart shines through and it's obvious that you have deep respect and admiration for this band. So many of the things you said about them are things I think too. You seem to "get" what they are about! I am seriously jealous that you got to go to an aftershow, though. THAT is next on my list of "switchfoot" things to do!
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I'm pretty sure that this review is from Springfield on 4/16 b/c of Andy said the dailyfoot that Drew made the setlist that night and it ended with Awakening. He also said something about the aftershow with Reeve Oliver. That was the only show I remember reading about that had Awakening at the end instead of Dare you to move or Meant to Live.
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"No, it's life giving" - what a response.
I cannot wait to see Switchfoot live, the more I read reviews I just think, I will die if I miss it.
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susie, thanks so much for your kind words! that was my purpose in writing this, so i'm glad it came through. I wrote this for an english paper (though i would've written it anyway to always remember the night) but my purpose of the paper was to try and explain to my friends why i love the band so much.
I hope you get to go to an aftershow soon!
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awesomeee review & pics, becca. :)
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I'm impressed with some the photos you took without a flash!
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Hey, Becca, we were the first people to request Somebody's Baby. I was in Austin and Jon gave me a look too. Drew was surprised and said "Have you even played that song before?"
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thanks pop!
and arpit, gosh. i was too. I was once again very grateful for my camera, and the nice railing right in front of me that I could steady it on.
rose, wasn't it completely odd? I had kinda forgotten that he hadn't played it a lot, but i felt really good about it, because he obviously knew i was more than just a fan.
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And your mom is awesome. (We moms have to stick together). I promise I am working on the aftershow video. And when I figure it out trust me it will be a flippen news alert!!!! For my limited abilities I think it is pretty good. Especially since it shows you sitting right there in front of Jon after you asked him to play the song. That aftershow was a blast!! And again your mom is awesome!
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haha. thanks lori!!
your kids are lucky to have such a cool mom! :D
<3
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Great review and pics Becca! I can't wait to see the aftershow video - sounds like it will be awesome.
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thanks kate! same here. lol
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you guys are soo breathtaking! im so glad you are a part of this music world. idk what to say but thanx![jon please dont' fall again, you scared me!]
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Love this recap. Your heart shines through and it's obvious that you have deep respect and admiration for this band. So many of the things you said about them are things I think too. You seem to "get" what they are about! I am seriously jealous that you got to go to an aftershow, though. THAT is next on my list of "switchfoot" things to do!