SHREDnews

By: Steph Mirsky

When the opening chords of “Needle and Haystack Life” rang and the blue lights hit the stage, all the band members of Switchfoot were present except for front man Jon Foreman.  The sold out crowd was then graced by the presence of his voice; the soft repetition of “in this needle and haystack life” and the fluidity of the song’s melody set the entire ambiance for the show.  And then it occurred, the most beautiful opening moment of any concert I have ever been to; the musical intro strung out and the spotlight hit Foreman, who was standing in the upper section of the crowd with mic in hand.  “We are right now,” he sang as he embraced the fans around him and made his way to the stage.  From the beginning moments of the concert, it was clear that this night was truly going to be a fantastic and inspirational evening with Switchfoot.

The band wasted no time moving into “Mess of Me,” the second track on the Hello Hurricane album.  This song demonstrated the raw energy of the album and translated beautifully onstage.  The crowd reacted to the stage presence of the band members and a collective strength ran through the hearts of all.  However, after a dynamic introduction, Foreman elegantly transformed his energy to match the flow of Hello Hurricane, which Switchfoot played in its entirety.  To add to the intimacy of the set, Foreman took a few opportunities to explain the connotations behind his lyrics; something most musicians are not comfortable doing.

Before moving into “The Sound,” Foreman noted civil rights activist John M. Perkins; a man who believes in the value of loving those whom have wronged you.  Foreman cited inspiration taken from the words of Perkins and even references the activist in the song, “Jon Perkins said it right, ‘Love is the final fight.’” Love and redemption seemed to be two themes woven into every word sung and spoken during the evening, making the set truly unique.

On the back end of the Hello Hurricane Foreman pulled at the heart strings of the audience and experimented with a variety of instruments: he opened self-title “Hello Hurricane” with a ukulele, sat down to perform an intimate version of “Always” on the piano, and incorporated a harmonica into the beautiful rendition of “Yet.”  As the band entered the close of final track on Hello Hurricane and the end of the first set, there was not a moved soul in the house.  As “Red Eyes” faded out with the repetition of “What are you waiting for?/We are once in a lifetime…we are once in a lifetime,” the audience came to understand that this was truly a once in a life time opportunity.

When Switchfoot took the stage again for their second set, the audience was fired up to hear the band’s older songs.  What everyone received was another full set featuring 12 of Switchfoot’s greatest hits, which featured drastic variety that took the audience on a roller-coaster experience.  This set started off as electric as the first with “Stars,” which had the entire crowd singing along.  Then, in true Switchfoot fashion, Foreman quickly slowed everything down to play an intimate “The Shadow Proves the Sunshine,” only to bring the energy back up with “Oh Gravity!”  As the audience adapted to every song change, Foreman gracefully flowed, feeding off the energy of the night and the crowd.  The most impressive moment of the evening was when the band turned “Love is the Movement” into an intro for “Meant To Live” that was so powerful, one could feel the emotion pouring out of Foreman’s soul and music.  Switchfoot hit its artistic maximum when the band created an interlude in the middle of “Dare You To Move” that featured a beautiful dialogue by Foreman:

“Music is the vehicle for expression, for hope. It is not a possession. You cannot own it…it is believing in a world that does not exist yet. It is seeing things, as they are not. It is not illogical; it is a dream, but it will come to pass. In the mean time, welcome to the rest of your life. Welcome to everything that doesn’t make sense tonight. Welcome back to the things that will tear your core. Welcome to the fallout.”

Finally, to top it all off, the band encored with “Daisy” and “This Is Your Life,” which transitioned into an outro featuring a subtle repetition of the lyrics from the first song of the evening, “Needle and Haystack Life.”  As the lights dimmed and the final chord of the show rung loud in the speakers, the spotlight hit Foreman one last time and the entire crowd was united under the theme of “we are once in a lifetime.”