Another thrilling week of Switchfoot events has come and gone here in San Diego. Starting on the Grandstand Stage at the San Diego fair and culminating on Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, “Switchfoot Week 2010″ was all that I could have hoped. The band gave two great live performances and hosted what is probably one of the funnest beach events in San Diego.
The San Diego Fair
Switchfoot’s show at the San Diego fair this year was one of the best, if not the very best show that I’ve seen from them and drew the biggest crowd I’ve seen at the fair. Jon’s voice was strong, the crowd was engaged, the sound was great, and the song selection was fantastic. The show began a little gloomy with an overcast Del Mar sky, but as dusk arrived the light-show that emanated from the stage outshone the atmosphere. My favorite songs from the show include “Gone,” a performance that the band has mastered, and “Meant to Live” with a perfect “Love is the Movement” buildup. Some great Jon moments included his climbing all over the stage, walking out into the crowd, and breaking a drum. Drew also had some spectacular guitar solos during “Gone,” “Mess of Me,” and “The Sound.”
After the show I stood in the Friend of the Foot line for way too long to go meet the guys back-stage. When my turn finally came, I tried to milk the moment for all that it was worth. I shook hands with each band-member and asked each one a question. When I asked Chad whether he would be surfing or not at Bro-Am, he told me that he, Jon, and Tim would all be out on the water for the surf competition. When I asked about the missing Hello Hurricane Mandolin, Jon told me that it had been accidentally left behind in Nashville but that it was in good hands. In addition, he told me in response to my question that the next Fiction Family album is finished but that he and Sean Watkins are going to “hold onto it for awhile.” I asked Drew if he was going to be the MC again at Bro-Am, and he enthusiastically replied in the affirmative. Jerome agreed that their Europe tour was epic and told me that they had a great time. Finally, Tim told me that I would be seeing him out on the beach for the Bro-Am. On the way out I even ran into Andy Barron and asked him about his camera, suspecting that he was sporting the Canon 5D Mark II. He confirmed my suspicion and noted that he also has a Canon 5D, and that he has been using the Mark II for the Switchfoot podcast. (No wonder the most recent podcasts look so great!)
Here’s set-list from the fair:
- Needle and Haystack Life
- Mess of Me
- Stars
- Gone
- Always
- This is Your Life
- The Sound
- Free
- Yet
- Your Love is a Song
- Hello Hurricane
- Oh! Gravity
- On Fire
- Awakening
- Love is the Movement/Meant To Live
- Encore: Only Hope
- Encore: Dare You To Move
Switchfoot Bro-Am 2010
This year’s Bro-Am, which presented by Hurley and a charity for Stand-Up for Kids, was all-out amazing and one of the biggest beach parties I’ve ever seen! The weather was very pleasant, the sun was out, the surf was good, the breeze was cool, and Encinitas was beautiful as ever. Also, there were so many people! There must have been over 6,000 people and over 30 vendor stands. Parking was absolutely terrible and the walk from the car felt like a mile at least.
Among all of the festivities, I was fortunate enough to see Jon and Tim surf joust – a very entertaining form of surfing. I also was able to listen to Timmy Curran perform, and was able to shake his hand afterward behind the stage. I laughed out loud as I listened to Drew as he MC’ed from the main stage, throwing freebies into the crowd and raffling giveaways. Drew was even wearing a Hurley shirt that read “SHurley” in reference to his last name “Shirley.” The highlight of the day was, of course, watching Switchfoot perform from the mosh-pit. They put on another great show – if not as good as the one two days previous – and the audience really got involved, singing along and bouncing beach-balls to the music. The band even played a special song, “Sabotage,” as originally played by Beastie Boys, and showed a different side musically.
Overall, I had a wonderful Switchfoot week and can say nothing more except that I can’t wait for next year!