Switchfoot
Four bands for the price of two typically seems like an excellent deal. However, when it’s 90 degrees in an outdoor amphitheater, four bands in four hours can seem like a lot.
The Tour de Compadres consisted of rockers Switchfoot and Needtobreathe, with Nashville-based Colony House and Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors opening.
Wolf Trap’s Filene Center in Vienna, Virginia, housed the show in its gorgeous wooden amphitheater complete with a balcony and vaulted ceilings. Like most outdoor concerts, the lawn was sold out with younger people while families and older folks took the covered seats. While the inside wasn’t sold out, many families, some with grandparents in tow, turned out for the concert.
Because the headliner, Needtobreathe, is a Christian group, the entire show was family friendly, though by 10:30 p.m. some parents with younger kids were leaving.
The young men of Colony House were quite good, though they played to a two-thirds empty audience. A peppy, clean sound and energy made up for what they might have lacked in coordination (there was one small collision between instruments and a couple of close calls).
Drew Holcomb and his band, The Neighbors, had a delightful, intimate feel. His voice’s twangy, slightly gritty quality sounded great with the Filene Center’s acoustics. “American Beauty” was one of their best numbers, with a folksy rhythm and peppy lyrics.
Holcomb spoke directly to the audience, sharing funny anecdotes and taking pictures, and seemed much more used to playing smaller venues.
This reviewer would like to see them again, somewhere more cozy. Fortunately, they’re playing 9:30 Club in the spring.
Switchfoot and Needtobreathe kept the crowd rocking for the remainder of the show, with plenty of guitar riffs, vocal interjections and general rock mayhem.
Jon Foreman, Switchfoot’s lead singer, slowed it down a couple of times to get poetic about Virginia and his childhood, but Needtobreathe kept a fast tempo with booming bass and bright — read: really in your face aggressive — lights.
For both performances, the crowd was mostly on its feet, singing along with popular tunes like Needtobreathe’s “The Outsiders” and moving to Switchfoot’s “Dare You To Move.”
However, even when things really got going, some of the audience remained sitting because of the hot, humid weather.
While there were not many overly religious or spiritual references, Switchfoot and Needtobreathe were both uplifting and sent positive vibes to listeners.
Looking around, everyone felt it. Some of the younger people seemed a little turnt (with the Holy Spirit, right?), but even the grandparents were smiling and nodding their heads to the beat.
Overall, it was a pleasing mix of familiar radio hits and some newer tunes, but really, the whole affair could have been an hour shorter. Maybe then, everyone would have been able to take in the whole show.
Here’s what I learned:
Rock is not dead.
Switchfoot’s 2003 breakout hit “Meant to Live” is not dead.
If skinny jeans are dead, no one’s told Christian alt-rockers.
