First of all let me apologize for my absence in the blog world… I have been busy working two jobs and trying to get myself prepared to head back to college. Who knew summer would be so busy??
Despite my packed summer, this past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to finally see One Republic live in concert! Last year around the same time my family and I had tickets to see them and the show got cancelled. We saw the opening band and everything, then One Republic came on stage (minus Ryan Tedder) and apologized for their cancellation. It was my birthday present…I was crushed.
So this year, we made it happen! My dreams came true and I could not have been happier. The Native Summer Tour is NOT one to miss. With two noteworthy opening bands (The Script and American Authors) this was a fantastic night.
Although “Best Day of My Life” is probably the most annoying song on the planet, I did enjoy American Authors’ performance. They had a lot of energy and managed to hype everyone up for The Script and most of all, One Republic.
Then came The Script. They completely warmed my heart. I have loved this band for a long time and have always wanted to see them live. So opening for One Republic was the whipped cream on top of a beautiful birthday celebration. The lead singer, Danny, made every fan feel special.
After singing their first hit “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” the crowd went wild. We all were cheering and screaming for them. You could see the pure gratification on Danny’s face as he realized, they’ve made it. After a long emotional pause he said something along the lines of “We have the best f****** fans in the world, we love you guys!”
Near the end of their set, Danny made a sprint for the audience running right behind my cousins and I as we squealed in shock that he was right next to us. He went to go sing in front of the lawn folk and continued running back to the stage (bodyguards in tow on both sides.)
My favorite song they performed would have to be “For the First Time” there is something purely beautiful about it. The piano and the lyrics really make it a true anthem. Another fun moment was when Danny told the crowd to call an ex boyfriend/girlfriend so they could sing “Nothing” to them. One woman in the front called her ex-boyfriend and handed Danny her phone. He stayed on the line the entire time as Danny sang “Nothing” into the phone, it was actually hilarious!! After the song he had the entire crowd yell “Goodbye A**h***!” as he hung up the phone. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.
Overall, I was ecstatic at The Script’s performance. They really blew me away. I would absolutely see them again, probably as a headliner.
After a long extraneous wait for One Republic, they finally began the show! The stage had a curtain blocking the band as they started to play “Don’t Look Down” and then directly into “Light It Up” both from their newest album “Native”. The tan-ish curtain showed the crowd the trippy moving shadows of each band member as they continued playing “Light It Up”. Near the end of the song the curtain finally dropped, displaying gorgeous lights, an eclectic backdrop and none other than a dancing Ryan Tedder swirling around the stage to his own voice.
I was in heaven.
Every song was even better then what you would hear in your car on a late night emotional drive.
Favorite songs live:
“Can’t Stop” – The bass makes your heart beat out of your chest and Ryan’s falsetto is to die for.
“Come Home” – One of my favorite songs of all time, I have been waiting my whole life to hear it live.
“Apologize” – The slowed down piano version Ryan sang with strings in the back served a serious amount of emotion, not to mention he tacked on Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” flawlessly at the end of the song making it seem like the two were meant to be sung together.
“If I Lose Myself” – In my mind this was One Republic’s ‘comeback song’ and is spectacular live. The band decided to perform the Alesso remix which got the crowd up and dancing on their feet. This was the perfect encore.
The entire band looked like they were having a blast together, each member putting their heart and soul into every song. There’s no denying that Ryan steals the spotlight considering he can play piano, guitar, tambourine, and probably every other instrument on the planet, but each member is just as talented and deserves to shine on that stage.
Overall this band lives for music and it is clearly evident in the shows they give. Ryan Tedder made a promise that the next time they see us they will have new music, new clothes, and will hopefully be better looking… no worries, they look just as good right now!
My favorite part of the night was when Ryan said “Lyrics for me make the world go round.”
Amen to that, Amen.
Music blogger 