Before there were 7, there were 6 others

Back from the commercial break.... I know right, not that long? So here is what happened next and where the night proceeded to outdo itself with every passing minute. Jon informed us, the audience, that the band was going off stage and that they would come back and sing whatever it was that the audience was singing. It was a social experiment of sorts, to see if we could unite our voices into one. It sort of worked. I say sort of because I spent some time discussing with my little circle, the friends I came with, the engaged couple we had newly meet behind us and the younger couple in front of us. I was on the verge of starting a rendition of Company Car because that's what the bride to be behind us wanted when I heard the noise of singing towards the front. I could not as the people next to me could not make out what they were singing. But Jon heard it and that's all the really mattered. The band came back out and I laughed as Tim came up to the mic and simply stated, "Oh I really like this song!" And Jon kind of stumbled around for a moment laughing that we as an audience were really giving them a run for their money. 

Faust, Midas and Myself is one of my favorite songs. It was my favorite song on Oh! Gravity. When I first heard the CD all the way through. Though since then I have a little fight with myself about if I my favorite is Burn Out Bright or 4:12... Anyway. I snuck a video of this song because, well I just sort of had to. Sorry House of Blues security that was watching me suspiciously from on top of the bar. I know I was told no video and no flash, but I didn't use flash and everyone else was taking video! My guilt made me stop halfway through the song but still, I got a good part of it. Then they played Stars, which if the band hadn't already had my love with that song was written they would have won it. There is nothing I love in nature more than the stars so the fact that there is an entire song about their purpose in life could not make me happier. The moment when Stars turned into The Shadow Proves the Sunshine was momentous to say the least.

  

Oh! Gravity kept the crowd rocking and at a request from some friends from the East Coast in the audience the band played Dirty Second Hands. As in the picture on the left, I was trying to actually capture the clock (which is also in the video) that was hanging off stage above Tim's head. Next they played what Jon at first described as a Camp Song that everyone could sing (which really confused me cause I thought something like Gone, or Company Car). He went on to explain that he wrote 24 for a girl, he had tried to impressed with his skateboard (and ended up doing something to his wrist). My friends who was with me was more than thrilled at the story and the song (it's her favorite). So they definitely made her night. Playing Dare You to  Move made my night better because as I said in the

part 1, that is one of the original songs I heard. I thought it went so well with the overall theme of the

night's story, keep moving forward. 

Here is the point where I think I was caught off unsuspecting again (like when Tim was on the opposite side). The band started playing Love is a Movement. I have never heard them play that song, especially not in the rendition that they did last night. It was beautiful and I caught myself singing before I was even aware they were playing that song. It wasn't even something I had fathomed, Love is a Movement to openly transition into Meant to Live? It was what we disney people might call a magical moment. I was thrilled at the the conclusion that I came to with the help of the band's set list thus far. Switchfoot has evolved as a band, playing with the same themes and struggles that everyone does. Every album has been a different sound, a different essence, a different perspective of the same story. Every song has built upon the last in ways that are truly significant to the movement of thoughts, emotions and inspiration. The band has grown with its audience, possibly partially as a commercial move to continue selling albums but also I think out of personal growth as well. We were all on the same page of our own books last night and it was awing. 

Now is the only sad part of the night. Not really for me, it was actually the best 

part of my night, but the young couple that had been in front of us ducked out at this point. Newcomers to the bandwagon I assume because they left before the always guaranteed encore. So you know we clapped and clamored for about three minutes before the band came back (at least they don't make us beg). They started playing  This Is Your Life and Jon jumped off stage and into the crowded. He veered stage left (the side that Tim was on and I was not). He steered himself through the crowd and jumped onto the bar on that side of the floor, underneath the hanging balcony and sang to the crowd. Not unusual for Jon, crowd interaction is his classic movement and an essential part of the integrating of the audience at each show. 

What surprised me as that after he jumped off the bar on that side he completely crossed the great divide of people (it was a sold out show) and came straight at me. Now as all adoring and complying fans would, we parted a path for him. Almost too late I realized that my purse was directly in his path and could potentially make him fall on his face. My purse was on the floor because it weighed at least 5 pounds and I had been carrying it for about 3 hours while standing around (Seriously though the security guard made me empty it and made fun of me for the array of objects I carry around -books, dvds, canned food, you know everything). So I used my foot to move my purse in hopes not to trip him with either my stuff or my foot cause that would look bad. 

Jon proceed to climb the bar in front of me and start singing Awakening. Yeah. I was standing in front of him as he hopped the bar, looked around, took pictures with the girl's next to me camera. It was surreal. I took pictures of his shoes because that's what I was starring right at whenever I looked forward. There was no better way for the show to end me personally, because it was just breath-taking. Watching him sing to the crowd next to the kids sitting on the bar. So I leave you with those images but more than anything else I want to say something about Switchfoot the band, the music, and the performances.  

As a writer, as a crafter of stories and as someone who is constantly looking for a muse and inspiration I thank the members of Switchfoot for all their help. Looking up the definition of inspiration I describe that the archaic definition states that to inspire is to take into the lungs in breathing, inhale or better yet to infuse by breathing. Switchfoot has transcended being just a band, or even just an inspiration. Their music, the story they choose to tell, breaths new life into not only what I choose to create and the stories I choose to tell but also in me as a person. Their melodies are encouraging cajoling motions, urging us, pushing us forward. They are motivating their audience, their fellow players on the stage of life to be, to do, to light the way with their love and resilient spirits. So keep on rocking guys, you're really doing great. I can not wait to experience what comes next.