CONCERT REVIEW

Switchfoot: The Oh! Gravity. Tour

By Jennifer E. Jones
CBNmuisc Producer

November 7, 2006

CBN.com – Neither rain nor a Congress-changing election night could keep fans away from The NorVa in downtown Norfolk, Virginia, when Switchfoot came to town. A relatively full house got more than an earful of the Oh! Gravity. Tour.

Funky punctuation aside, Switchfoot put on an amazing show. Opening for the band were rising stars Ryan Ferguson (think Josh Kelley or a less funky Warren Barfield) and Moses Mayfield (more Dave Matthew Band meets the Goo Goo Dolls), both of which were well received by the audience. However, you could tell that everyone was there for the headlining act.

Switchfoot kicked it off with possibly the best opening song in their repertoire, “Stars”. With the lights thundering down on every beat, front man Jon Foreman belted out the chorus with the help of a multitude of sing-a-long fans.

Foreman was every bit the showman on stage. His goal was to connect with fans – even if it included some death-defying stunts. He did a little body surfing during “Meant to Live” and climbed up and down the speakers all night long. During the end of “On Fire” and on into “The Sunshine Proves the Rain”, Foreman scaled a pole and walked along the narrow edge of the balcony. He sang hovering above the crowd, thrilling fans and making venue security rather nervous. My heart skipped a beat when the singer chose to jump down from the balcony back on to the stage. It was a considerable drop, but Foreman landed on his feet.

This tour was definitely the perfect time to let fans preview songs off the new album. The band seemed particularly excited to play these new tunes. In addition to the new single and title track, Switchfoot rocked out to “American Dream” and “Burn Out Bright.” An awe-struck hush fell over the normally rowdy crowd during the all acoustic version of “Let Your Love Be Strong”.

The best performance of the new stuff goes to “Dirty Second Hands”. The rolling drums of Chad Butler rumbled through the dark, slow song. They kicked it up at the end when Foreman grabbed a cymbal and literally started beating the heck out of it and kicking it around stage – much to fans delight.

Humor was not lost on the night. Foreman played a cute little ditty about getting over the flu. “This is a song about two days ago,” he tells the audience. The short, tongue-in-cheek song described the illness as “giving up all you have from the inside out.”

I had read recently in the CCM press that fans were concerned about how many old songs would be played compared to the new – especially with a band like Switchfoot that has a lengthy catalog to choose from. However, the band did a great job of mixing the hits with the future chart-toppers. Fans still got to sing along to “Dare You to Move”, “This Is Your Life” and “We Are One Tonight.” Switchfoot slipped in some non-singles yet fan favorites such as “Ammunition” and “Gone”. They even dipped as far back as “Learning to Breathe” from 2000.

By the end of the night, fans felt like they got an intimate concert with the theatrics of a big arena. It rekindled a love for the hits that made Switchfoot a household name and wet the appetite for what’s to come.

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