lishun's musings

Thursday, February 07, 2008

don't close your eyes - switchfoot kl

i'm not really sure how to write about a rock concert, considering this gig by switchfoot was my first one.

do i write a brief history of the band? do i declare my undying love for jonathan foreman? do i pen a confession of the relatively short period of my career as a switchfoot fan? do i punctuate a review of the concert with words like "incredible", "amazing", "wicked", "fantastic" and "smashing"? do i post up the horribly grainy photos i took from my cameraphone because i, the good girl i am, took clause no.8 at the back of the ticket seriously?

oh heck i'll do all of the above. =P

it's hard to believe that switchfoot only broke into the mainstream market in 2003, with their 4th album, "the beautiful letdown". like many fans from this corner of the world, i was introduced to the band through that album and it quickly became a favourite of mine. i was heartbroken when a friend scratched my copy of the record, especially since it included an acoustic rendition of "only hope" and the hauntingly beautiful "you". i was just enamoured by the soul in jonathan foreman's voice and impressed with the life in the songs' lyrics.

(oh wow, i've already done 3 of the things on the list!)

i am not a big enough fan to have heard their first three indie albums and i don't fancy their two latest records, but i was excited enough at the news of their arrival in kl to seriously consider going for their concert all alone if there wasn't anyone to go with. thankfully, my pal june decided to join me.

see the window at top right? the band was hanging out there before they came on stage.

june and i were greeted by a super long line extending all the way to the traders hotel entrance. i was pleased that there would be a large crowd, although i later learned that only 2000 showed up for what was definitely one of the best rock concerts to ever happen on malaysian soil.

really long-but-wide line leading to the gate.

love me butch were awful. seriously. i guess the only reason they played was because one of the band members is part of onearmed, the company responsible for bringing switchfoot to our shores. for that reason, and that reason only, i will refrain from saying any more about them. thank God altered frequency displayed better showmanship, better music and carried better entertainment value.

i will not bore you with a detailed description of switchfoot's set that night. what i can tell you, however, is that their performance was jam-packed with energy from start to finish and the atmosphere in that convention hall was simply electric. the crowd was brilliant, singing every word to every song, responding to every prompt by frontman foreman. i have to say that i was proud of how we became part of the band's performance that night.

my favourite song of the night has got to be "gone", because the band incorporated beyonce's "crazy in love", which they did a hilarious cover of for a special yahoo! pepsi smash cover art program, into the intro and the instrumental bits in the middle of the song. jon also sang parts of radiohead's "high and dry" halfway through their rendition of "on fire". it was awesome.

there were some moments during the concert when i felt as if i were at a praise and worship session. although switchfoot has shrugged off the label of "christian rock band" so as to not limit their music to a particular group of people, the spirit in some of the songs was unmistakable. in the midst of the heavy electric guitar riffs and brilliant use of the electronic keyboard thingamajig were words and music that cut straight to the soul.

(i later realised the band cut "24" from its set in malaysia because of the song's obvious reference to the born-again experience. what a shame. it's my favourite track on "the beautiful letdown")

this photo's had its saturation tweaked - just for fun.

in the end, the winning factor was most definitely switchfoot's long experience with touring and performing live. they were simply incredible, amazing, wicked, fantastic and they certainly gave me an absolutely smashing night.