The Fray
October 24, 2016
The Wiltern- Los Angeles, CA
Following the announcement of The Fray’s upcoming greatest hits Through The Years: The Best Of The Fray album, which will include three new songs, the band arrived in Los Angeles, CA on October 24 to a packed Wiltern theater.
After American Authors did their best to pump up the crowd, it was time for The Fray. Surrounding the stage were draped red curtains which set an elegant mood for the evening. The lights dimmed and the members of the Fray came out on stage, looking equally as chic, in their suits. With the stage almost completely dark, fans could only see the silhouettes as they began with their latest single, Singing Low, from their upcoming album. The lights brightened up by the second song, one of the band’s biggest hits, You Found Me.
The night continued as lead singer Isaac Slade alternated between standing front and center with his mic., or playing the piano and singing. The band continued with Look After You which ended with a snippet of Oasis’ Wonderwall.
“We’ve been doing this for over 10 years,” Slade tells the crowd, following Our Last Days. “One of the first places we played outside of Colorado was LA… If you can make it in LA, you can make it anywhere…” The crowd cheered as he continued. “I was so scared… I’m still a little scared.” Slade said as the band continued with Vienna.
Throughout the set, the back of the stage would occasionally light up with little ‘star’ like dots which illuminated the room. Such a subtle touch to their production made the whole show more enjoyable.
After the 2005 hit, How To Save A Life, the band got close together at the front of the stage for four acoustic songs, starting with Heartbeat. For the second song, Heaven Forbid, rhythm guitarist Joe King took on lead vocals as Slade played the piano and for the third, Wherever This Goes, Slade attempted to play the guitar and sing. “I’d like you to wish me good luck on the guitar.” He joked. For the fourth and final acoustic song, the band performed Heartless by Kanye West.
The energy picked back up with Closer to Me, where the entire venue began clapping along, and the set ended with Love Don’t Die, another upbeat song, from their 2014 album Helios.
Soon The Fray were called back onstage and did a three song encore which included Syndicate, Changing Tides and Over My Head (Cable Car).
While the energy may not have been the highest one would see at a ‘rock’ concert, The Fray definitely did their job at entertaining the crowd, who were admittedly mundane. Be sure to keep an eye out for The Fray’s upcoming Greatest Hits album and check them out in a city near you!
Review by: Nicole Lemberg
The Fray
American Authors
