Last weekend I was able to see Switchfoot perform live for the first time in a long time. It was also the first time I'd seen them since the new Nothing Is Sound album dominated the set list.
Here is the setlist from 11/13 was (hat tip):
1. Dare You to Move (Acoustic)
2. My Lonely Nation
3. Gone
4. Ammunition
5. Learning to Breathe
6. Happy is a Yuppie Word
7. This is Your Life
8. More Than Fine
9. Easier Than Love
10. The Fatal Wound
11. Politcians
12. Let That Be Enough (Request song from a canadian girl Diana [SP])
13. Special song about the tour
14. The Times They Are A' Changing(Bob Dylan Cover)
15. On Fire
16. The Blues
17. Shadow Proves the Sunshine
18. Meant to Live
ENCORE I
19. Stars
20. We Are One Tonight
ENCORE II
21. Daisy
The first night had Company Car instead of Let That Be Enough included 24 but not Daisy, Learning to Breathe or The Blues. The second night also featured Reeve Oliver but they didn't play many of their best songs (On The Floor, Reevenge or Imposter). They still kick much butt and are an act worth seeing on their own.
Back to the first night, I brought my 10 year old son. JonnyUps from Parker Theory and Scott Anderson from This Holiday Life were both there and we hung out with them a bit. FYI, This Holiday Life just finished making their first full length album and I hope to get my hands on it soon. We also saw some other Switchfoot fans that are also friends of ours. It's always a great time to see the gathering of all the Switchfoot fans I know. There's some serious die-hards out there (including yours truly).
I was looking forward to hearing the Nothing Is Sound songs to see how the songs begin to grow. I noticed that My Lonely Nation has some extra catchy background vocals and Jon Foreman kept singing into his guitar from This Is Your Life into Happy Is A Yuppie Word but the biggest difference (and highlight of both nights) was The Shadow Proves The Sunshine. Tim Foreman puts his base down for the first chorus and plays a huge drum. I wasn't ready for it the first time and it was startling and pretty darn cool. During the same song Jon Foreman really kicks the emotion up during the last part and exceeds anything else he's ever sang. I want to get a copy of this performance really bad.
It was great to hear Company Car again and I've never seen the Feet perform it so well as they seemed very relaxed and just let go. I miss songs like New Way To Be Human, You Already Take Me There and Chem 6A and hope they'll keep working in some of the older songs.
The second night I ran into Bobby Anderson from This Holiday Life and a few others from my church. I went with a good friend of mine from work who hasn't seen Switchfoot in a couple of years. He was amazed at the growth of their stage presence and how good they've become. It was so good to hear Let That Be Enough live again. It's been a long time since I've heard it live as it used to be a staple of their shows. I know many fans think that The Beautiful Letdown (TBL) was their first album but are really missing out on their first 3 albums before TBL.
All in all, I totally enjoyed both shows and can't wait to see them again, especially to see the growth of the newer songs. The House of Blues of San Diego is a great venue and I will go to other concerts there in the future.
Cross-posted at Blog Critics
Posted by Tim at November 15, 2005 07:45 PM
