Switchfoot
July 12, 2015
Greek Theatre- Los Angeles, CA
As part of their De Compadres Tour, Switchfoot came out on stage fairly early (and not in the headlining spot) on July 12 to a packed Greek Theatre. With all smiles, lead singer, Jon Foreman came out last, looking into the sea of people who smiled back at him. The band began their 11 song set with When We Come Alive, one of the fan favorites from the band’s 2013 album, Fading West. They continued along with their up-beat, alternative rock songs by playing one of their biggest hits to date, Meant to Live.
What was different from this show than most others is that Foreman was constantly telling stories and explaining the meanings of certain songs that they were performing. Just before Hello Hurricane, Foreman began reminiscing about coming to shows at the Greek since no tours would ever go to San Diego since “San Diego is like the little brother of Los Angeles,”. He explains that hopeful songs need to be written and that is the reason that the band broke away from their label and recorded the album Hello Hurricane which came out of “the storms of life,”. Foreman said that he wanted to perform the song around just 1 microphone, unlike anything they’ve done on the tour thus far so each band member came to the middle of the stage with their instruments and formed a half circle to perform Hello Hurricane.
After their more mellow rendition of Hello Hurricane was probably the most exciting moment in the show; just as the band began performing Love Alone Is Worth the Fight, “the way that Switchfoot performs it,” Foreman made his way into the pit while fans sang the introductory melody. Foreman made his way through the entire pit, high-fiving people on his way through and then began walking toward the seats. Throughout the song, people are quickly taking out their smartphones and snapping selfies as Foreman walked through the orchestra and loge seats of the venue. He would playfully grab fans’ hats and put them on and pose for selfies before giving them back. Following the song, the band continued with another from their 2013 album Fading West with Let It Out. Foreman was still in the crowd, and exclaimed, “I’m sorry! Y’all are way back here and I can’t hold back!” As the song was in it’s last verse, Foreman was back in the pit where he crowd surfed his way back on stage by enthusiastic fans. “I’m sorry, I got carried away,” (literally) “I won’t let it happen again.” Foreman laughs.
Foreman was constantly asking people to cheer for his band members, talking about them in high regards constantly. It was clear that the band had a tight bond with each other from their attitudes and their solid performance. As Let It Out was ending, drummer Chad Butler ended with a rockin’, hard hitting drum solo which had the crowd going wild. For the next two songs, The World You Want and the band’s most popular song, Dare You To Move, they brought out cellist, Keith Tutt who made for a nice transition to softer songs.
With two songs left in the set, Switchfoot performed one of their most hard rock songs, The Sound which was inspired by John M. Perkins who dedicated his commitment to love the oppressed and the oppressor. As soon as Drew Shirley played those first few notes on the guitar, everyone in the venue knew and instantly stood up. With a fast paced instrumental ending, strobes were flashing every nano second while Foreman climbed atop the bass drum, holding his guitar up for one final jump. Switchfoot ended their high energy set with Where I Belong in which a fan threw a flag on stage which read Where I Belong on it. Foreman held it up as fans cheered and wore it around his shoulders for the song. The set ended with the entire venue singing the “Woah Oh Oh”.
The performance as a whole was incredibly entertaining and enjoyable. Switchfoot know how to put on a great show as they are incredibly skilled with their instruments and with Jon Foreman being able to connect with the crowd, both physically and mentally. This is a band that you cannot miss when they come through your city so be sure to pick up tickets and check these guys out!
Review by: Nicole Lemberg
