What Direction: Switchfoot Concert Review: Part 2 & Photos

Finally, I've managed to carve out some time here and there to write and put this up. So far, this is the most challenging entry I've written.

Wanna portray a true impression what SF is about and what the songs meant to me. And to do justice to the amazing concert. Warning: this is a really loooong post.

The Background

Switchfoot is a band from San Diego who love surfing. "Switchfoot" is actually a surfing term. Jon Foreman said, “We all love to surf and have been surfing all our lives. So to us, the name made sense. To switch your feet means to take a new stance facing the opposite direction. It’s about change and movement, a different way of approaching life and music”.

Christian?

The popular question is this: Is Switchfoot a Christian band? Btw, what is a 'Christian' label anyway? Let's get this straight.

Tim Foreman said this: "We're Christian by faith, not genre".

Jon wrote this sometime back in a SF board:

"To be honest, this question grieves me because I feel that it represents a much bigger issue than simply a couple SF tunes.

In true Socratic form, let me ask you a few questions: Does Lewis or Tolkien mention Christ in any of their fictional series? Are Bach's sonata's Christian?

What is more Christ-like, feeding the poor, making furniture, cleaning bathrooms, or painting a sunset?

There is a schism between the sacred and the secular in all of our modern minds. The view that a pastor is more “Christian” than a girls volleyball coach is flawed and heretical. The stance that a worship leader is more spiritual than a janitor is condescending and flawed. These different callings and purposes further demonstrate God’s sovereignty. Many songs are worthy of being written. Switchfoot will write some, Keith Green, Bach, and perhaps yourself have written others. Some of these songs are about redemption, others about the sunrise, others about nothing in particular: written for the simple joy of music. None of these songs has been born again, and to that end there is no such thing as Christian music.

No. Christ didn’t come and die for my songs, he came for me. Yes. My songs are a part of my life. But judging from scripture I can only conclude that our God is much more interested in how I treat the poor and the broken and the hungry than the personal pronouns I use when I sing. I am a believer. Many of these songs talk about this belief. An obligation to say this or do that does not sound like the glorious freedom that Christ died to afford me. I do have an obligation, however, a debt that cannot be settled by my lyrical decisions.

My life will be judged by my obedience not my ability to confine my lyrics to this box or that. We all have a different calling; Switchfoot is trying to be obedient to who we are called to be. We’re not trying to be Audio A or U2 or POD or Bach: we’re trying to be Switchfoot. You see, a song that has the words: “Jesus Christ” is no more or less “Christian” than an instrumental piece. (I've heard lot's of people say jesus christ and they weren't talking about their redeemer.) You see, Jesus didn’t die for any of my tunes. So there is no hierarchy of life or songs or occupation only obedience.

We have a call to take up our cross and follow. We can be sure that these roads will be different for all of us. Just as you have one body and every part has a different function, so in Christ we who are many form one body and each of us belongs to all the others. Please be slow to judge “brothers” who have a different calling and thank you for reading. "

Elsewhere, SF music has been labelled 'Honest Music for Thinking People'. I liked that. I couldn't agree more!

The Concert

Overall, I thought SF performed really well, a little better than what I expected actually. Great showmanship. Jon had good charisma. Communicated well with the crowd. Not with some usual cliche lines, but honest stuffs about their music. His vocal at live performances has improved. The band's cohesion was very tight and clean. The lightings were good enough.

Above all, SF were genuinely themselves, not what they were not supposed to be. Other bands could learn something about authenticity.

The Songs

For the summary of songs order, see my earlier post.

SF only started at 8:28pm and finished in less than two hours. Wished they played a few more numbers. Even a couple of their songs were not sung completely. 'Only Hope' was one of their best-loved songs and the second verse was one of my favorites. But it was skipped altogether, to my disappointment. I also wished they played 'Head over Heels'. That is one honest love song I really like.

I'll go through the songs and what they meant to me. And write parts of the songs:

'Oh! Gravity'. The concepts of Newton's gravitational law, combined with the law of thermodyamics to describe the social fallout and entropy. A theme that is echoed in some of SF's other songs.

Oh! Gravity!
Why can't we seem to keep it together?
Sons of my enemies
Why can't we seem to keep it together?

'Stars' to me, is about putting things in the right perspective in this insane, chaotic world.

Stars looking at our planet
Watching entropy and pain
And maybe start to wonder how
The chaos in our lives could pass as sane
(In the concert, Jon sang "chaos in our heads", pointing to his own head)

I've been thinking about the meaning of resistance
Of a hope beyond my own
And suddenly the infinite and penitent
Begin to look like home

When I look at the stars...

'Politicians'. I'm surprised they really played this song, one of the less known number. Jon commented halfway that this song is about the politics in our hearts.

'This Is Your Life', echoes the cry in our hearts looking for a purpose and direction in our lives. To be who we really want to be, with no regrets. Jon sang into his guitar at the end, and the guitar strings resonated and sang back "who you wanna be? who you wanna be..."

This is your life
Are you who you want to be?
This is your life
Is it everything you dream that it would be
When the world was younger
And you had everything to lose?

'Lonely Nation', is about our lonely generation. Disenchanted, disillusioned. Remnant of lonely souls wanting more than what we can buy with cold, hard cash.

We are the target market
We set the corporate target
We are slaves of what we want
We're just numb and amused
And we're just used to bad news
We are slaves of what we want

Singing without tunes
Screaming without lungs
I want more than my lonely nation
I want more than my lonely nation
Desperate we are young
Separate we are one
I want more than my desperation
I want more than my lonely nation

'We are One Tonight', is a song about unity in this upside-down world. I always dream of singing and dancing to this song played live. Having SF themselves played, was perfect!

We are one tonight
And we're singing it out
We are one tonight
And we're dreaming out loud
Though the world is flawed
These scars will heal
We are one tonight

'The Shadow Proves the Sunshine'. The song title said it all. In a way, it's quite a comforting song.

'Only Hope'. The popular song sang in Mandy Moore's movie 'A Walk to Remember'. Fans used to argued whether Mandy's version or the original SF version was better. I certainly enjoyed the version I heard in the concert where Jon started with his accoustic guitar. If only he sang the full song...

I give You my empathy
I'm giving You all of me
I want Your symphony
Singing in all that I am
At the top of my lungs
I'm giving it back

'Learning to Breathe'. This song always sounded better played live, and I particularly enjoyed the extended intro version. One of the first SF tunes I heard years ago, which made me a fan. It was like a breath of fresh air in the midst of other 'christian' songs.

I'm learning to breathe
I'm learning to crawl
I'm finding that You and You alone
Can break my fall
I'm living again
Awake and alive
I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies

These abundant skies

'Gone'. SF teased the crowd by playing Beyonce's 'Crazy in Love' intro (check out their cover version in Youtube, really funny). It's remarkable how they seamlessly switched the two songs in the intro and bridge parts. This funny but serious song reminds of our temporal lives on this planet. It cleverly made references to Bono, Elvis and Al Pacino etc.

'American Dream' bites into the truth about our materialistic world. It questions the standard of success. This is the song when the SF fellas were 'frozen' for what it seemed like a very long time (I had no way to tell how long exactly, but probably less than 2 minutes). And how did they 'unfreeze' and continued the chorus without any glitch, was simply awesome! Really cool!

When success is equated with excess
The ambition of excess wrecks us
The top of the mind becomes the bottom line
When success is equated with excess

This ain't my American dream
I want to live and die for bigger things
I'm tired of fighting for just me
This ain't my American dream

'Dirty Second Hands', a song about the dehumanization that comes with technology. Jon thrashed the cymbal around the stage towards the end. Kinda amusing to watch.

'On Fire' is another of my favorite. It was a brilliant touch to squeeze in Radiohead's 'High and Dry' chorus at the bridge, a song I really love ten years ago.

I'm on fire when You're near me
I'm on fire when You speak
I'm on fire burning up these mysteries
You're a mystery

'Awakening'. The song I had been waiting for! It was almost unreal to hear this live. Jon made us sing the intro which was originally a synthesizer part, I think. Towards the end he said something. Couldn't remember what he said, but I think it had something to do with 'waking up'. I was totally caught up with how he said it....he was imitating Bono! And the atmosphere the band created with the effects was almost like the U2 of the early days. But it was no secret U2 was one of their early heroes.

'Meant to Live'. One of their most played songs in the radio. The crowd really got wild for this. I liked how Jon allowed us to sing the bridge instead of him. Deep down inside, this is the cry of everyone.

We want more than this world's got to offer
We want more than this world's got to offer
We want more than the wars of our fathers
Everything inside screams for second lives

We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves
We were meant to live

SF left the stage, but everyone knew it wasn't over. Cos they haven't play their arguably, most famous song of all. Their defining song that appeared in two of their albums and the soundtrack of 'A Walk to Remember'. As expected, they returned for the encore.

'Dare You to Move'. I recorded this song on video. Well, most of it anyway. Many SF fans have their DYTM stories. I have one too. Among so many things, this inspiring song is about redemption, daring to pick yourself up and move on, facing the reality of what happened with courage, facing the reality of yourself.

Jon said this during the song, "For me, I see so many inconsistencies in the way I want to see the world and the way it is. There is a tension that exist between who I am and who I want to be..."

Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself
Where you're gonna go? Where you're gonna go?
Salvation is here

I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself...

In this fitting finale song, Jon thanked the crowd for being part of their music, for the night that he'll never forget. I certainly won't forget that night too! Thank you Switchfoot. Please come back to KL!

Finally, some pictures...

Sherene smiling in her new SF t-shirt!