
Switchfoot and Collective Soul wrapped up their summer tour at The Factory in Deep Ellum Sunday in front of a large, loud audience. The idea to bring these excellent bands together was a very good idea at that. The bands may differ a bit stylistically, yet they're remarkably similar. Both have solid resumes filled with history, great songs and loyal fans. This added up to a great night of music for everyone.
Switchfoot began the proceedings and came out firing on all cylinders. Mentioning that is was the last night of the tour, frontman Jon Foreman said he was leaving any energy he had left onstage in Texas. He must've had plenty left, because he was everywhere during the band's set: on the barricade, wading through the crowd and even climbing up to the balconies to sing and mingle with fans during the epic "Bull in a China Shop." It was great showmanship and the crowd loved every minute of it.
The 14 song set touched on 9 or their 12 albums, covers of the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" and Weezer's "My Name is Jonas" and "Texas Medley" of "On the Road Again," " All My Exes," "Yeah" and "The Gambler" performed campfire style by the band at the front of the stage. Oddly, only one song from their current album, interrobang, was in the setlist. The band closed with their breakout hit, "Dare You to Move" with Jon Foreman right where you'd expect.
After 29 years, Collective Soul has assumed a Cheap Trick-esque status with fans. They release consistently good albums, tour regularly and play to appreciative crowds. Their latest release, Vibrating is no exception. Anything on this album could fit on earlier Collective Soul records and the band featured three of them, including the rocking "Cut the Cord" and bouncy "All Our Pieces" which would be a hit if radio didn't suck.
That's a discussion for another day. There was no crowd surfing or balcony climbing by singer Ed Roland, but the band was clearly having fun and no less energetic, tearing into perennial favorites "Heavy," "Gel" and "Better Now," with it's extended jam, ripping solo from guitarist Jesse Triplett and massive groove by bassist Will Turpin and drummer Johnny Rabb.
A bucketful of hits and eleven albums to choose from is a double-edged sword because somebody won't hear their favorite song. The co-headliner billing meant a shorter setlist and the band leaned heavy on the hits. Then again, with songs that good played by a band as great as Collective Soul, you can't complain too much. And nobody did!