Lifehouse and Switchfoot, co-headlining the Looking for Summer Tour, stopped at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles Sept. 9th. A homecoming of sorts for these two bands as Lifehouse is from Los Angeles and Switchfoot is from just down the road in San Diego.
Having toured together almost 10 years ago, talks began early in the year about putting together a tour. It was time for Lifehouse and Switchfoot to join forces again for a 33-city tour. These two bands have been on top of the billboards charts for two decades. Lifehouse has sold over 15 million records worldwide. The anticipation and endless energy filled the air from the sold-out crowd of all ages at The Greek Theater on a comfortable night under the stars.
The stage is set as you see a big LCD screen which enhances the show. Frontman/vocalist/lead guitarist Jon Foreman, bassist Tim Foreman and drummer Chad Butler (the three original members) are joined by keyboardist Jerome Fontamillas and guitarist/backup vocals Drew Shirley opening the show with Hello Hurricane from the album of the same name, followed by Love Alone is Worth the Fight from the album Fading West. J. Foreman welcomed the crowd, stating “he dreamed of playing here all his life“. Rounding out the first three songs with Stars off Nothing is Sound.
There were a few highlights that stand out to me, besides their great music. J. Foreman is very crowd oriented, as he climbs over 
the chairs into the crowd, introducing his little brother, bassist Tim Foreman, and drummer Chad Butler hugging and shaking hands with the fans during the song Bull in a China Shop off Where the Light Shines Through. Switchfoot is not shy on their spirituality and beliefs as J. Foreman asked for the lights to go down and everyone light up their cell phones, stating “I picture the maker looking down at us in times like these, just shaking his head tears in his eyes………. I’m just going to play a love song”. I Won’t Let Go off Where the Light Shines Through, very emotional and touching the theater was lit up with the glow of light. Followed by a song dedicated to one of his heroes (John M Perkins’ Blues) a freedom fighter then and still to this day, The Sound off Hello Hurricane.
Altogether, Switchfoot played a 13-song set including a two-song encore of Float off their latest release Where the Light Shine Through ending with Dare You to Move off Learning to Breath with frontman Jason Wade of Lifehouse joining them on stage. Already being a fan of their music, this was the first time seeing them live, love them even more!
Next up, Lighthouse! The time that I’ve personally been waiting for. I have their albums in my collection and have seen Lifehouse several times over the years, unfortunately, it’s been a while. Will they affect me the same way as they did in the past? They are the reason I’m covering this show.
Having to photograph from the soundboard didn’t matter at this point. The lights went down, the LCD screen lit up showing pictures of the past, I started to feel my heart beat faster and my arms became covered with goosebumps. This sold-out crowd is now on their feet as drummer Rick Woolstenhulme, touring guitarist Steve Stout and bassist/backup vocalist, Bryce Soderberg kick off with Hurricane off Out of The Wasteland. Frontman Jason Wade enters the stage. The cheers are over the top. The first notes out of his mouth was all I needed, oh yes!! It’s the same, they haven’t missed a beat. Followed by All In and Halfway Gone off Smoke and Mirrors, one of my favorite albums. Wade is also very fan friendly, as he jumps off the stage and works his way up the aisle way, turning the corner heading my way I had to lower my camera and step out of the way before we collided or get run over by the fans rushing to him. As he went up a few steps to the upper level, taking selfies with the fans, I stood back and enjoyed the moment and the fans’ excitement.
Lifehouse took the music scene by storm with the hit single Hanging By A Moment from their debut album No Name Face in 2001. The song was number one for three weeks in a row on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number two on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. This paved the way to releasing seven albums since 2000 with several hit singles, all on the Top 40 Hits charts in the US. On July 14, 2017, Lifehouse released its Lifehouse Greatest Hits album – an 18-track compilation which includes songs You and Me, First Time, Halfway Gone and Hanging By A Moment – to name a few.
A 15-song set, including the two-song encore, took us down memory lane from albums Out of the Wasteland, Smoke and Mirrors, No Name Face, Who We Are, Stanley Climbfall and their self-titled album Lifehouse just didn’t seem long enough. The fans could listen to them for hours and hours. With several highlights, which included bassist Bryce Soderberg addressing the fans and basking in the spotlight stating it’s been six years since Lifehouse has toured and would like to do a song by their idol covering Pride by U2. This was followed by frontman Jon Foreman of Switchfoot joining the stage for the song Flight, off Out of the Wasteland. As Soderberg, Woolstenhulme and Stout exit the stage, frontman Wade appears with an acoustic guitar. As he begins to tell a story of living in Los Angeles with several roommates and how he waited every night for everybody to fall asleep so he could write music and play the guitar. It wasn’t so much the story, as it was the emotion in his voice the heartfelt gratitude playing at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles as he thanked the fans for all their support for the last two decades.
Following with acoustic versions of Broken from Who We Are and Everything off No Name Face the band closed out the night with You and Me from their self-titled album and Hanging By A Moment off No Name Face. These two band complement each other perfectly. When the chance arises, I recommend you check them out. You won’t be disappointed.
Making a stop on their Looking for Summer Tour at the House of Blues in Houston, Texas on September 5, both Switchfoot and Lifehouse were devastated by the disaster that struck Houston and wanted to do something together to give back by writing a song, Shine Like Gold, with all the proceeds going to aid relief and recovery for those affected by the hurricanes through their partner’s Food for the Hungry.
Connect with Lifehouse online: Website Facebook Twitter Instagram
Connect with Switchfoot online: Website Facebook Twitter Instagram ShineLikeGold
All photos by Tammy Greene
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