Lifehouse And Switchfoot Live At The Wolf Trap

Washington, D.C. mini-trip for Shae’s birthday:

• Review: Stone’s Cove, Herndon VA
• Review: Staybridge Suites Herndon Dulles
• Review: b Restaurant DC Penn Quarter
• The Birthday Queen’s Royal Visit to Washington, D.C.
• 20 Pictures: Smithsonian National Zoo
• Lifehouse & Switchfoot Live At The Wolf Trap

The reason we’d gone away for a long weekend was because we were celebrating Shae and her mom’s birthdays which are a day apart.

However, the reason we picked the Washington, D.C. area was because of me. Lifehouse and Switchfoot announced months ago that they’d be touring together. They’re two of my favorite bands, so there was no way I was passing up on this opportunity to see them.

Random fact: I last saw Lifehouse live on September 11, 2003, a few months after Shae and I had started chatting online. It may seem weird that I remember the date, but it’s because it was also the last time I smoked a cigarette.

I originally bought a ticket to see them in Philadelphia as that was the closest location with a date I could make. A few weeks later though, they announced another stop on the tour – the Wolf Trap in Vienna VA, just outside of Washington, D.C. I bought another ticket for the Wolf Trap and sold my Philly ticket on Stubhub, so that wasn’t a complete waste.

And yes – I only bought one ticket for Lifehouse and Switchfoot. Shae’s not a big fan of either band (I love her despite her poor taste) and so it didn’t seem worth spending all that money for something she wouldn’t enjoy. I was perfectly happy going by myself, so when August 13, 2017 came around, off I went to the Wolf Trap.

Filene Center at Wolf Trap

Wolf Trap is a 117 acre National Park that also houses the Filene Center. The Filene Center is an outdoor amphitheater made of wood and looks stunning – my photo doesn’t do it justice.

There’s plenty of covered seating, so you won’t get wet even if it rains, as well as some balcony seats.

There were also lower priced ticket options for people who were happy to sit farther back on the grass.

Brynn Elliott

First up was Brynn Elliott. I’d never heard of her before, so wasn’t sure what to expect. When she came out onstage, she launched into a short a cappella song that showed off her vocals.

Her voice was very impressive and it was an incredibly smart way to start off her set. It ensured all of us were paying attention to her from the beginning which can be hard to do when you’re an unknown opening act.

Brynn ended up playing about 8 or 9 songs which were all pretty good. She had great onstage charisma and confidence which was especially impressive as she wasn’t even a senior in college. You should definitely check her out on Youtube or Spotify – she’ll be a star.

Switchfoot

After a short break, the lights dimmed and out came Switchfoot. They kicked off with Hello Hurricane and Love Alone Is Worth The Fight, before launching into Bull In A China Shop.

I’ll be honest – I was never a huge fan of that song up until now. However, Jon Foreman walked over the seats into the front few rows and made it a whole lot more fun. He stuck around in the crowd for This Is Your Life before heading back on stage.

This concert was held in Virginia the night after the Charlottesville dumbassity, so they dedicated I Won’t Let You Go not just to Charlottsville, but the country as a whole.

When your fear is currency
And you feel that urgency
You want peace but there’s war in your head
Maybe that’s where life is born
When our façades are torn
Pain gives birth to the promise ahead

After a few more songs, we got to the moment I’d been hoping would come around. My favorite Switchfoot song is Where I Belong and I’d always thought it sounded like the kind of song that would sound phenomenal live.

As soon as I realized they were about to play it, I pulled out my phone and started recording a video. After a few seconds, I thought “Screw that – just enjoy it.” So I stopped recording and soaked it up.

And it was beautiful.

I’m apparently not the only person who loves the song, as someone in one of the front rows gave Jon Foreman a flag which simply said ‘Where I Belong’ on it. He grabbed it and waved it around while singing before hanging it on his mic stand.

That was the end of the set, but they came out for a three-song encore. They kicked it off with Meant To Live and followed it up with Float – complete with bubbles.

As they were about to start their final song, a special guest came out to join them. Jason Wade of Lifehouse sang the first verse and chorus of Dare You To Move before leaving Switchfoot to finish both the song and their set.

I’ve gotta say – Switchfoot were amazing and put on one of the best live shows I’ve ever experienced. It felt like they gave it everything they had and that they loved being there, rather than just going through the motions like some bands do when touring.

If you ever get a chance to see Switchfoot live, do it – you won’t regret it.

Switchfoot Set List From The Wolf Trap

In case you’re interested, here’s their set list:

1. Hello Hurricane
2. Love Alone Is Worth The Fight
3. Bull In A China Shop
4. This Is Your Life
5. Your Love Is A Song
6. If The House Burns Down Tonight
7. I Won’t Let You Go
8. Live It Well
9. When We Come Alive
10. Where I Belong
11. Meant To Live – Encore
12. Float – Encore
13. Dare You To Move (with Jason Wade) – Encore

Lifehouse

I’m not sure if they deliberately set it up this way, but after Switchfoot had opened their set with Hello Hurricane, Lifehouse opened theirs with their own song called Hurricane.

At some point during their second or third song, Jason Wade came out into the audience. And not just in the front few rows. He came out to row S and walked the length of it singing.

That was awesome because I was in row T 🙂

I texted Shae that photo and her reply was

*whisper* who’s that?

These wifeys….

Unfortunately Lifehouse were having some kind of sound issues, as people in the front few rows could hear the music but couldn’t hear any singing. As a result, they paused the set while they set up another couple of speakers down the front to fix the issue.

When they were about halfway into the set, Bryce Soderberg (the bassist) took over the vocals for a cover of U2’s Pride (In The Name Of Love) which they also dedicated to the events in Charlottesville.

That was followed by Jon Foreman of Switchfoot joining them on stage to perform Flight – my favorite song off their latest album.

Jason Wade then played an acoustic version of Broken before also starting Everything acoustically. Halfway into Everything, the rest of the band jumped in and rocked it up.

After a couple more songs, they closed out their set with Spin. That wasn’t the end though, as they came out for an encore to play what are probably their two best-known songs – You And Me and Hanging By A Moment.

And that, sadly, was the end. I loved the Lifehouse performance, but for me – Switchfoot stole the show.

Lifehouse Set List From The Wolf Trap

Here’s Lifehouse’s set list:

1. Hurricane
2. All In
3. Halfway Gone
4. Sick Cycle Carousel
5. Only One
6. It Is What It Is
7. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
8. Flight (with Jon Foreman)
9. Broken
10. Everything
11. Whatever It Takes
12. First Time
13. Spin
14. You And Me – Encore
15. Hanging By A Moment – Encore