One of my favorite things to do in the summer is sit under the stars and watch an outdoor performance. Saturday night was an absolutely beautiful summer evening and one of my favorite bands came to the Usana Amphitheatre for an incredible concert. Needless to say, I was pretty happy! OneRepublic started their set with "Light It Up" behind a giant screen, which whipped the 17,000 screaming fans into a frenzy before it finally dropped. Whenever I go to a concert, there is always one song that I really want the band to play. It is usually pretty obscure, so sometimes I'm disappointed. But it just so happens that my favorite OneRepublic song, "Stop and Stare," is quite popular so they played it relatively early in the evening. I loved it because it was an incredibly stirring performance with the entire crowd singing along! I really love Ryan Tedder's voice and, even though it was a large arena with over 17,000 in attendance, he sang with such raw emotion that it felt very intimate. Many songs began acoustically with one featured instrument and a spotlight (piano for "Apologize," Spanish guitar for "Counting Stars," and cello for "Secrets") and then built to a crescendo with other instruments and the usual light show. They played a few songs from Native, their latest album, such as their catchy new single "Love Runs Out," "Preacher," and "Something I Need," but they kept the crowd happy with the hits "All the Right Moves" and "Good Life." When they played "Come Home," they showed images from SLC projected on the screens and that definitely got the crowd cheering. They ended their set with "I Lived," an incredible song that I want played at my funeral! Listen to it! For the encore, there was an amazing rendition of "Wonderful World" (did I mention that I love Ryan Tedder's voice?) and then "If I Lose Myself." It was a really fun night of great music!
Note: I also enjoyed the opening bands, even though I wasn't as familiar with them. The first band was American Authors. I didn't see their whole set because of an epic parking nightmare (did I mention that there were 17,000 people at this concert?) but I did get to hear their biggest hit, "Best Day of My Life," which was fun. The Script put on a great show with charismatic front man, Danny O'Donoghue, running through the crowd multiple times. I really liked their performance of "Breakeven."
