I’m nobody special. I’m just a fan of amazing music that has been brought to life time and time again through philosophies of lessons and then a journey that has brought five guys together. Nine albums full of a heart-felt passion that pours out of their souls and into their fans’ veins and it brings everyone in the room when they play it…back to life. And that is how you bring a show to life.
I have my own philosophies of what I think their music means and I’ve written about what their music means to me more than just a few times. Sorry I’m not sorry. Switchfoot, I’m Restless for the similar reasons you guys are.
…
The last time they came into town for a Joyful Noise concert, I was there. Damn near front row…and got a pretty sweet shot of Jon Foreman with the Vice Verses guitar:
I think he was playing “Where I Belong” (my all-time favorite song by them) at this point. This was an outdoor concert in Blaine, Minn., and it felt like it took forever for them to finally come on stage. There were at least five bands previous to them that went on stage. The bands were all really good, but I was getting real antsy and so was the crowd.
Previous to the Joyful Noise, I made a video and tweeted a request (see below) about five different times.
I eventually got Drew Shirley’s attention:
The after show didn’t happen. I waited for about 20 minutes in my car finding a way to pass time and nothin’. *sigh*
Their most recent visit to town was Sunday, Sept 22.
Hello #FadingWest tour bus:
I spent the extra cash to do the VIP experience and my wallet didn’t feel the effect of it. I’d like to personally say THANK YOU to the band for that. This is yet another reason I appreciate what these guys do even more because I don’t have to break the bank to go see a seriously personal show that just affirms ten-fold why I’m so into to what it is they do.
….
VIP meant sitting in on the sound check (thank you for letting his happen, Jon and FYI, Ike Schaible was really nice about everything):
Switchfoot was practicing a new way of performing “Needle And Haystack Life” and it was the coolest thing I’ve seen them do. I guess church at Northwestern College went long, which meant their rehearsal time dipped into the VIP stuff, but they made it all work, hence why we were invited to sit-in on the sound check.
Then, Jon hopped off stage and did a “Q&A” and I was beyond scared to ask the one question I wanted to. I’m still working on getting the answer to the question I wanted to ask and I’m pretty close to getting my question answered, but not by Switchfoot, although it has everything to do with Switchfoot. 
Pretty, darn, cool.
In the photo above, they all gathered around one mic, applied some ducktap to Jerome’s accordion (to make it a little more quiet and not over-power everyone and all of the instruments) and boom…they made it work.
I really like the #FadingWest look so I had to snatch a picture of it. Oh, hi Chad (he’s “hiding”)!
(Fun fact: Tim Foreman designed the Switchfoot logo, or rather, star.)
Before they performed, we watched the documentary Fading West they spent a whole year making while traveling around the world and it didn’t occur to me how much they not only sacrifice to be out on the road to play these amazing songs for their fans, but what their wives and kids sacrifice in the process.
Fading West hit a nerve for me. Things happen in life. We can’t explain why they happen when they happen, but they happen. Fading West is about finding the passion of Switchfoot and who they are…again.
On the outside, through all of the marketing, it appears they’ve got it all together and figured out but I’ve only watched a couple hundred interviews and it’s amazes me that they still find ways to make these records happen. I’m pretty sure they’re recording a new song right now. Because that’s what they do. I think that 90 percent of their songs will never make it to an album.
The next time I get the opportunity, I want to ask them if they’ll release a rare Switchfoot “unedited” edition. I’d like that. I’d like that a lot. Hey Paul Myers! Maybe you can convince them for me? Help a pal out!
The first song they performed was “Who We Are.” Good thing I had the song on repeat a few days before so I could half-way sing along.
What was so neat about this concert is that they literally asked the crowd what we wanted to hear and even did an “Ask Switchfoot” session in the middle of the set to answer questions the crowd asked via Twitter such as:
“What do you do when you feel “it” come on and you can’t just hop off stage?” HA! Oddly enough, Jon Foreman had the perfect story and I’ll spare you the details. I think it really had something to do with food poisoning though.
They were also asked if any of the members had ever forgotten to call their mom, though I can’t remember the specifics of what the question entailed. Low and behold, Jon had an answer for that question as well.
The point? They had a conversation with the crowd and it was the most intimate concert I’ve ever been to. I’m probably being biased about this whole thing though.
The band also asked whose first Switchfoot concert it was and from what I could see about two-handfuls of people raised their hands. With that said, the band apologized for the flow of the show because they were doing a show in a way they had only done twice before, so it was all new to them as well. It was definitely different, but a night I will remember for years to come.
They also played “Mess Of Me,” “On Fire,” “Dare You To Move,” “Where I Belong” and as I mentioned above “Needle In Haystack Life.”
For “On Fire,” Jon did what he normally does (and he does it in the “Where I Belong” video below). He hopped off stage and into the crowd and reminded us and himself once again that they do what they do because this is all part of something bigger than you, me and Switchfoot.
What that is, I can’t even explain it. Hence why the title of this post seems like an incomplete title if you will, especially if you’ve decided to read this entire post.
So, going back to that after show business. You know how I asked about the after show when they were here this summer? Well, it was a Sunday evening and I had to be up early the next day. I thought that when they wrapped the show up, they wrapped it up for good and I didn’t even think twice.
Jon!!! I missed it!!!
Switchfoot, someday it’s all going to end because it’s very true:
“…this skin and bones is a rental, and no one makes it out alive…”
(lyrics are from “Where I Belong)
Here’s what I know at the end of the the day:
(P.S. If you only ever listen to one song by these guys, let this one be it.)
I can’t seem to get enough of the music…
Without further ado, I’ll see you at the 10th annual 2014 Bro-Am concert next summer somewhere in SoCal.
“4 am is a great time of night. The day before is long ahead but the morning is yet to come. All the commotion from the night before has died down and every sane upstanding citizen is asleep. It’s a great time to go for a walk. You’ve got the planet to yourself for an hour or so, so peaceful…even the stars look different: waiting dawn. I feel the same way that the stars do sometimes. Anticipating…the night is nearly over, the day is almost here.” – Jon Foreman