By: Derek Roper

Staff Writer

Ram’s Head Live! received a taste of the Hurricane, when the band

Switchfoot played to a modest crowd on Monday night, Dec 2.  The show was titled

‘A Night with Switchfoot,’ and that is just what it was; the group hung

out with the crowd and made it the people’s show. The concert was also

doing a good deed. Attendees were encouraged to bring canned goods that

supported the local food bank.

As the crowed eagerly watched the stage and cheered for tour staff members

as they performed the sound check, they did not notice that vocalist Jon Foreman was

ascending up to the balcony. The lights dimmed and then flooded Rams Head

and the people were confused that only four of the five members were on

stage. Then Foreman’s voice rang out signaling the beginning of their song

“Needle and Haystack Life” from their new album Hello Hurricane. The crowd

on floor level screamed. The catchy song was just the tip of the iceberg

of a very entertaining show.

If there is an emotion to describe Switchfoot, it is love. They hide that

behind an exterior of shaggy hair and a rock persona, but most of (if not

all) their songs focus on love. In the case of “The Sound,” Foreman said

“This song is dedicated to John M. Perkins (an American civil rights

activist).” “I like to go to places I haven’t been before, hate is met

with hate and racism with racism, love is what you need.”  Guitar riffs

and a heartbeat-like rhythm of a song sent a message about love and

listening to the sound “of a heart beat,” to stop the anger.

Undoubtedly, the most popular song off the album is the title track,

“Hello Hurricane,” which had the crowd pulsing and jumping. The song is

pure Switchfoot—but grown up. The song of the album is a little bit calmer

than the performance version. The song is a metaphor of a strong and

damaging love, but as the lyrics go “Hello hurricane, you can’t silence my

love, I’ve got doors and windows boarded up.”

In every show there is that one drunken fan; this time the drunken fan was

ready for the holidays, adorned with a Santa hat. She danced to herself and

would prove to be as entertaining as the headlining band.

“I love pianos, let’s hear it for them,” Foreman said. “This song is about

my mother, she taught me how to play the piano.” He sat down to sing a

slow song that most of the attendees could relate to (mostly families).

The shaggy haired vocalist described the song “The first part is about the

breath of life and the bridge is about the bond.” There were no lighters.

After a very brief intermission (enough time to order another club soda),

the band was back and this time with a grin on their faces. “We’ve only

performed this song twice; don’t know if that is good or bad. We’ll see

what you think,” Foreman laughed. The Spanish holiday hit “Feliz Navidad”

was sung and it threw the drunken Santa lady into such a tailspin that in

the front of the crowd a Santa hat became airborne.

The band played all their tracks off their new CD and then came back to

their former one, The Best Yet. The crowd really started rocking out with

the always ubiquitous “Dare You to Move,” and the hit song “Stars.” This

regression showed a stark contrast to their younger heydays and their

roots in their faith. During this part of the show the drunk woman sobered up.

The band exited the stage after a couple more songs and as the lights

faded to black, the chant of the crowd asked for one more song, and like a

good band, they came back out and delivered.

The Hello Hurricane tour proved to be a perfect storm on a cold Monday

night and left concert-goers wanting more.

Comments may be sent to roderek1@umbc.edu