Keep Musicking: Grammy Awards

Monday, February 14, 2011

Switchfoot at Roxy Theatre, 11/11/09, review and photos

This is a reprint of a review from Switchfoot's intimate performance at the Roxy in Hollywood. It seems like the right time to give them a little more love since they just won a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Album. I have their very first album, "Learning to Breathe."

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot, photos by Sean Arenas

Jon Foreman seemed to magically appear standing on a table in the middle of the Roxy singing a wordless refrain while the band played from the stage. The front man smiled benevolently, encouraging audience participation until they sang without him.

A simple yet confident opening speech swirled into "Needle and Haystack Life."

"Hello Hollywood, Hello Hurricane. We're Switchfoot."

From the audience response, one would never guess that the song is a non-single from a new album. The lyrics exhort the audience, "Don't let go, don't give up hope. All is forgiven. You're breathing in the highs and lows. We call it living." After "Needle and Haystack Life," Foreman asked if it would be OK that they decided to play the new album from start to finish in track order. The audience cheered their approval.

Muse. Jason Merritt, Getty Images

Muse won the Grammy for Best Rock Album at the 2011 Grammy Awards. They were nominated for three Grammy Awards. Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals went to The Black Keys for the song "Tighten Up" from the album Brothers. The Grammy for Rock Song went to Neil Young for "Angry Noise" from his album Le Noise.

The recognition is bittersweet for many longterm Muse fans who feel that The Resistance is not Muse's strongest album. While there are better guitar riffs on other Muse albums, and more memorable vocal melodies on others, this is the album which has sold the best.

The lead single, "Uprising", was criticized. Though it was their most popular single, it's not the best melody Bellamy every wrote. However, it's given many fans a sing-along anthem.