Why would a middle-aged man leave work early from San Diego, endure nasty traffic for three plus hours, all to go to Hollywood to see a concert? Well, it's the Roxy on Sunset (holds only about 500) and it's Switchfoot. I've seen Switchfoot many times but they are now playing new songs from Oh! Gravity and weren't going to hit San Diego this time. So the legendary JonnyUps and I made the trip to a foreign land.
The Roxy is right in the heart of Hollywood and so you never know who you might see. There's the famous, the almost famous, the was famous and the most popular, the wannabe famous. Some of the folks we met (JonnyUps is fairly connected) were 'O' from Reeve Oliver and LP, the drummer from Yellowcard. We even saw the new "lead singer" from the Rockstar Supernova band, Lukas. He was definitely a guy who is trying very hard to be cool. I'm not sure sunglasses work that well at night unless you are one of the Blues Brothers. The crowd was full of record company / industry types, lots of folks older (and richer) than me.
But enough about the atmosphere and onto the show. We missed the first opening act, Ryan Ferguson as it seems he played before the crowd line was in the venue. He's a San Diego guy and pretty good. If you see Swithfoot on this tour make sure you get there early enough to see Ryan Ferguson. The second act was Moses Mayfield. They looked straight from the 70's and the lead singer spoke just like Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam. Their music wasn't my cup of tea so if I can't say something nice I won't say anything at all.
Once Switchfoot came on they hit their stride real quick. They opened with "Stars" and played very energized from the start. Next came "Politicians", a song I never thought I'd hear live again but was stoked it was played. They played some new songs including "Oh! Gravity", "Awakening", "American Dream" and the highlight of the night "Dirty Second Hands" (DSH).
Now "DSH" is nothing like anything they've ever done and I didn't think it would work well live. In fact, it's hard to even find the rhythm to the song. If any of you recall the movie The Jerk, when the Jerk character was trying to snap his fingers to the song he couldn't. Same thing for "DSH", but it just works, even live. You can hear "DSH" on the Switchfoot MySpace site.
Article comments
1 - Janet
I also drove three hours to see Switchfoot. I saw them in Minneapolis. From the concert I was at, I have to agree with everything you say about them.
I am also middle aged and also drove three hours to get there. I went with my 14-year-old daughter. We had managed three concerts that month, and one was with Good Charlotte, her favorite group.
We both like Switchfoot (obviously, or we wouldn't have gone to a concert) but their concert put their CDs to shame. My daughter even liked it better than the Good Charlotte concert, something she never thought possible.
I also agree that their kind of energy can't be captured on electronics.
Two days after the concert we were still on a concert high when my daughter looked at me and said "Best night of my life!" I knew exactly what she meant.
I was so moved by it all that when I blogged about it I couldn't find the words...twice.
We also got the chance to meet the band. We met them separately, and all of them were great. Three of them saw my daughter and said words to the effect of "Oh, yeah, I saw you. You were standing right there!" and correctly pointed to where she was on the balcony.
I look at the pictures from the meet-and-greet and see the biggest smile I have ever seen on my daughter. We have experienced a lot of loss this year, and seeing that smile...I'll always be greatful to Switchfoot for it.
2 - Vicky
Great review. I don't usually read these things, they are usually too boring, but yours was very good. I know Johnny (only a little, mind you) but I bet he is a fun time at a concert. Glad you enjoyed yourselves.