This past weekend, thanks in large part to the generosity of a few boardie friends (Tommy, Mandy, Luke, Kim. Wow it takes a lot of people to get me to concerts...), I attended the last 2 shows before tour: 10.12 in Shippensburg, PA, and 10.13 in Lynchburg, VA. So I figured I'd give you a firsthand account and try to make it sound as exciting as it actually was.
The burg of shippens:
[large, seated venue.] Arriving early-ish with my ride (who was helping with merch), I got to hang around the ticket booth by myself for a few hours while trying not to get in the way of the frazzled Luhrs Center staff (this place is pretty new), who didn't know what to do with the surplus of volunteers that kept appearing from different organizations. As other concert-goers gradually trickled in and stood with me, I was reminded by their excitement why I was there (waiting around for a while makes you forget things), and realized how lucky I was to actually be there (this whole weekend just barely came together for me at the last second). After a while, the staff didn't know what to do with us all, since we didn't really fit in the space inbetween doors anymore, so they let us into the lobby where we perused the display of Switchfoot and Ruth merchandise. There are a few new switchfoot shirts you can get excited about (sorry I didn't take pictures, but there's one that reminds me of something you'd see Tim wear on stage...And you can sort of see another one on this little dude:)
(Thanks, shanghai_stinger)
Ruth's merch was pretty neat as well. When they let us in to find our seats, I took my place in the frontest of the front rows, in just about the middle. Whew, not sure how I pulled that one off! For a while there was no one around me, so I surveyed the clean, new condition of this place. It reminded me of a concert hall where I might have gone to see a symphony on a school field trip a few years ago. I noticed that there was nothing for Jon to climb on, unless he had wanted to scale the large black curtains on either side of the stage...yeah, good luck with that one. The seats were cushioned, and the “railing” (it wasn't much of a railing - more like a short wall) in front of the stage was made of refinished wood. There were no security guards, and no place for security guards had there been any, so when I stood up against this “railing,” I could've touched the mic-stand in front of me. Crazy new experience, let me tell you. I'd never been in a seated venue before, so it blew my mind that I didn't have to stand while waiting for everything to start, nor was I squished next to numerous miscellaneous people, holding my ground for dear life. What was also weird was that the place was not very full at all. From what I heard, the show was barely half sold out. I guess lots of people just didn't want to get their faces rocked off that night? Ok, onto the concert.
Ruth came out and played a few songs. By the end of their set I was really getting into it. They whip out some good stuff, so you should all be anticipating a great opening act this tour. Keep an eye out for the drummer's expressions, and the bass-player - he's so intense, he can't contain himself. Moves around a lot, singing along when not at the mic, yelling out the drum beats. Crazy guy. Someone in the audience inbetween songs yelled to Ruth, “Can I be your Boaz?!” The singer didn't get it until the drummer explained that in the Bible, Ruth's husband was named Boaz...creative fans, gotta love 'em.
So after Ruth came the main act. Yeah, you know who I'm talking about. Starting off with Oh! Gravity, there was, as usual, no delay in raising the energy level of this half-filled concert hall. From there they ripped into other regulars like Stars, Meant To Live (weird that it was the 3rd song, but they like to mix it up), Awakening, This Is Your Life, On Fire, Gone, Company Car, American Dream, Dirty Second Hands, plus the added bonus of less-common songs like Faust and Lonely Nation. Learning To Breathe was on the setlist, but they crossed it out when before the show, a family requested Yesterdays. Jon played it on a guitar that they lent him, and he dedicated the song to them after identifying them in the audience.
(Thanks again, shanghai_stinger!)
It was pretty powerful to experience the somber mood that the whole crowd adopted during and after the song. No screaming, no yelling things out. Just respectful silence.
During Gone, as I mentioned earlier, there was nothing for Jon to climb on, so he ran about the stage restlessly, yelling at Drew and stuff. He also paused in the middle of this song to recognize Andy Barron, who recently photographed the New Kids On The Block, which Jon thought was “pretty weird, pretty awesome, pretty weird.” That might've been the reason for the fact that he played a few notes of a NKOTB song at a different time during the show, remarking, “I think that's the first time we've ever covered the new kids on the block. And the last time, too.”
Other notable moments include the We Are One/Shadow medley; Romey hitting the kickdrum during Faust; almost reaching complete silence during the American Dream pause (there were a few crowdmembers who just couldn't handle the awkward silence); and two awesome little kids (being held up by their dad) who were holding up “We Are One Tonight” signs in the front row as we all sang the words. Oh, and Phil. When Jon paused before Company Car to say, “this song is caaaalled....” a bunch of people yelled out the name, but then Jon had to stop altogether to get his stubborn pick out of his coin pocket (I don't know if that's what that tiny little pocket in your jeans is called. I never use it because it frustrates me). So he did it again: “this song is caaaallled...” but this time only one guy yelled out “company car!” Jon asked him what his name was (“Phil!” “Will?” “PHIL!” “Bill??” [whole crowd] : “PHIL!!! As in Phillip!” “Ohhhh, Phil! Hi, Phil!”), thanked him for naming the song, and made us all say hi to Phil. So Phil, if you're reading this, hi again.
Afterwards the guys went upstairs (minus Tim, who was sick with a cold. I think I'm a curse – the last 5 concerts I've been to, one of the guys was either sick or not there...4/5 of those times it was Tim, though, so maybe it's just him. The other time it was Jon, so maybe it runs in the family) and did a little autographing for people who had won “after party” tickets. It wasn't much of a party, except that we got some energy drinks and chips (Kim: “Hey, those are leftover from Vertical Fest!”). I didn't really want an energy drink at the time, but for some reason I found myself choking it down...strange. Jon then went to a nearby coffee shop (Corner Coffee, for you Shippensburg natives) and played some songs for us. He played Only Hope, during which someone's camera made a quacking noise. For a moment we tried not to laugh but our best efforts failed, especially when Jon himself was laughing too hard to continue singing, and had ceased playing as well. We collected ourselves and Jon restarted from the first chorus, this time inviting us all to join in. He also played Let That Be Enough, Daisy, and 24 all upon request. He prefaced War In My Blood by mentioning The Real SeanJon, and when someone asked him the title of the song, he couldn't think of it immediately. I blurted it out, realizing only after my first 2 words that I felt like a dork for being the only one in the room who seemed to know. But Jon thanked me, and I justified my knowledge by thinking to myself that it'd be pretty ridiculous for me to feed you guys news all the time and not retain any of it...not that that takes away from my dorkiness at all...Anyway, he played it without a capo, since none of us had one handy. He also played Southbound Train, mentioning his fondness of trains, and gave us the honor of hearing a new song (that'll be on his upcoming EP) that he's never played live before. It's called “Equally Skilled,” and has some great Old Testament references:
Lyrics:
How miserable I am I feel like a fruit picker who arrived here After the harvest There's nothing here at all Nothing here at all that could placate my hunger
The godly people are all gone There's not one honest soul left alive Here on the planet We're all murderers and thieves Setting traps here for even our brothers
And both of our hands are equally skilled At doing evil, equally skilled At bribing the judges, equally skilled At murdering justice Both of our hands, both of our hands
Yep, the day justice comes And is even now quickly arriving Don't trust anyone at all Not your best friend or even your wife
For the son hates the father The daughter despises even her mother Look, your enemies arise Right in the room of your very household
And both of their hands are equally skilled At doing evil, equally skilled At bribing the judges, equally skilled At perverting justice Both of their hands, both of their hands
No don't gloat over me Though I fall, though I fall I will rise again Though i sit here in darkness The lord the lord alone, he will be my light
I will be patient as the Lord Punishes me for the wrongs I've done against him After that he'll take my case Bringing me to light and to justice for all I have suffered
And both of his hands, are equally skilled At showing me mercy, equally skilled At ministering justice, equally skilled At loving the loveless Both of his hands, both of his hands are equally skilled
At thwarting the evil, equally skilled At ministering justice, equally skilled At loving the loveless Both of his hands, both of his hands.
You can get an MP3 of that song HERE. (Thanks, Deborah!)
After that song he ended the night with Learning To Breathe, and answered a few of our questions. If you wanna check out other videos from the concert/coffee shop (including bits of the Q &A with Jon), click HERE. (Thanks, jerdang!) Also, for a few more pics of the concert, click HERE. (Thanks, wvSFfans!)
All in all, it was a great night. Even though I could actually breathe, I wasn't covered in other people's perspiration, and I would normally opt for a small sweaty rock club, the guys rocked this place just as hard. I foresee a fantastic start to fall tour this Tuesday!
(This got long, so I'll tell you about Lynchburg in an upcoming post. Maybe I'll wait for some pics or videos to surface...we'll see.)
Omg, I got to the Lynchburg show 45 minutes late because of my brother. It was awesome! Was there a coffee shop show? I was really upset because we had to go back to the hotel room early. (We drove 3 hours)
THANK U FOR POSTING THIS, GELLIE!! i've been a total switchaddict lately, checking for new posts and daily feet every day, this totalllly made me happy! oh wow. love that song...im so glad Jon decided to put it on the ep. God bless.
you're always talking about these (seemingly) random coffee shop moments with jon playing for you guys after shows. how do i get that? switchfoot is coming here for a show and i am going (and so excited seeing as i've been a fan for i can't remember how long and i've never seen them and i'm so so so so excited)... but what about after? is it just a random "jon decides he wants to go to somewhere" thing or what? and how do i know?! i'm lost, but i just don't want to miss it.
Thanks for the video of Southbound Train. I love that song. Hope to hear Jon do it in person one day but the video is the next best thing. Aftershows are the best!!
Jon didnt do a coffee shop show after Lynchburg b/c they had to go meet with their new management or something. Too bad though, Luke had everything arranged just in case!
Hey Gellie, I took a few vids and about a bagillion pics at the show if you want me to send them to you.
o my gravity... i was THERE!!! the show was RAD!!! and i got to meet the guys after the show, and sadly i didn't get any pix with them... shoooooot, i really wanted that. and i wanted to meet tim, too. i hope he feels better soon... maybe i'll meet him next time. sadly i wasn't able to make it 2 the coffeeshop either kuz i didn't know about it :( i hope Switchfoot plays in PA again in February, kuz that's when my b-day is. so, Jon Foreman, if you're reading this, plan around it. :) heh. because, i want to meet tim and get pix with some or all of the guys, AAAAND i crocheted Jon a really RAD blue hat and i need to give it to him, and i won't be able to make it to any of the AFC tours. so, yuns, if you want to pray that Switchfoot comes to PA in February, please do so. i'd appreciate it!
@sarah: what does ROFLOL mean? you've said it on the tagboard acouple times and it's confusing me......im so glad you had a great time @ that concert sarah. im sorry you didn't meet tim, he's so nice, and very rad to talk to.
Omg, I got to the Lynchburg show 45 minutes late because of my brother. It was awesome! Was there a coffee shop show? I was really upset because we had to go back to the hotel room early. (We drove 3 hours)