Switchfoot.

When Chris first brought up the idea of driving nearly three hours one way to go see Switchfoot in concert I was, let's just say a little less than excited. But, when he brought it up again... and then a third time... and found some of their new songs for me to listen to... and signed up for their fan club so we could hear their sound check and meet them... I caught on that it was something he really wanted to do and wanted me to go. So, I agreed.

He downloaded what he could of the new album before it released last week. It was a super hit with the boys. I liked it, but still wasn't excited. Then, he bought the CD, Hello Hurricane. I loved it. I was officially excited.
Then. The day of, he tells me it was standing room only. I went from excited to..."I am tired and don't want to stand for three hours tonight!" I hate standing room only. I hate not being able to see. I hate being pushed around. And, although Switchfoot is Christian in their witness and lyrics, they draw all types of people. I was not excited about the possibility of standing in the middle of a rough crowd.

Well, we did get there early. We heard the sound check.

We met them.
Each one of them took the time to talk to each of the 25 or so people there.
Each one of them shook our hand and listened as Chris told them he has been listening to them since he was 17.
That he was at their concert here in 1997.
Each one of them thanked us for coming.
They were so down-to-earth. So nice. So humble. And, not the fake kind of humble.
They impressed me.

Then, it was time to decide if we were going to stand at the front to secure a good spot when all those waiting outside rushed in.
We did.

Oh. My. Word.
I am glad we did.
Our view..."un-zoomed," unobstructed.


It was LOUD...my right ear is still (nearly 24 hours later) ringing a bit. We were right next to the speakers. But, much to my surprise, I enjoyed it. We knew they would play through their whole new album. Start to Finish. My favorite song is #11, Sing It Out. Here are the lyrics.

I'm on the run
I'm on the ropes this time
Where is my song?
I've lost the song of my soul tonight

Sing it out
Sing it out Take what is left of me And make it a melody
Sing it out
Sing out loud
I can't find the words to sing You'd be my remedy
My song
My song
I'll sing with what's left of me

Where is the sun?
Feel like a ghost this time
Where have you gone?
I need your breath in my lungs tonight

I'm holding on I'm holding on to you
My world is wrong
My world is a lie that's come true

And I fall in love
With the ones that run me through
When all along all I need is you

As far as the crowd. We were surrounded by high schoolers. :) The 15 year old boy to my right let a shorter lady stand in front of him for a good chunk of the concert show she could see better. The group on my left yelled out "Jesus" when Jon Foreman (the lead singer) mentioned the hope we have in this life as he introduced the song, Always. It wasn't so bad. :)
My one pet peeve was everyone else singing at the top of their lungs. I came to hear the people on stage. :) But, I found myself wondering (several times) if all of these people really knew what they were singing.

This is how they ended the show...that is before they came out for a two song encore.


One of the encore songs was Awakening. It is the song our boys sing all the time. They reenact the video. :) So, of course, I recorded the whole song for them. I won't bore you with that.
Thanks, Chris, for taking me along!