On Sunday, April 10th 2010, I had a chance to go see the Pick Up The Phone Tour Featuring Hurricane Bells, Stars of Track and Field, and Blue October. This tour is a collaboration of these bands as well as To Write Love on Her Arms, PostSecret and 1-800-Suicide National Hopeline Network to raise suicide awareness. It is a brilliant way to raise suicide awareness and bring to light a problem that too often goes unnoticed. This tour was designed to help people suffering from mental health issues and show them that they have somewhere to turn for help.
The first band to perform was Hurricane Bells. This band consisted of two people a male guitarist/singer and a female back up singer. Their sound was more or less a modern folk sound. The band showcased some minor talent but unfortunately didn’t have too much to grab the attention of the audience. The guitar work was simple at best and the singing wasn’t much more than wailing. There was some effort showcased but these artists could have benefited from being backed by a full band. They played for a solid 30 minutes or so.
The second band up was Stars of Track and Field. Their sound was very reminiscent of a sort of fusion of Coldplay and The Killers. They had a solid sound and stage presences featuring loads of lighting effects and color changes. The lead guitarist showed of a little with some fancy solo work which was impressive. All in all they were very talented but were a little too mellow and failed to get the crowd behind them. They’re set was about 30 minutes as well.
The headliner of the tour was Blue October. Blue October’s sound I have always felt resemble a lighter version of Collective Soul very much an alternative rock kind of sound. The band hit the stage strong opening with Come In Closer from the album History For Sale. The show consisted of the a beautiful combination of sounds, lights and smoke. Their lead singer/guitarist Justin Furstenfeld puts his heart in every lyric he sings. He pours an emotionality that you can feel in the music. The band works as a well oiled machine moving from song to song. About half way through the show Justin stops to talk a little bit about the cause the tour is sponsoring and makes a joke about how the crowd probably just wants him to shut up and let the band play. He of course couldn’t be more wrong as the crowd listened quietly captivated to his important message about suicide prevention and awareness. After that the band continued to play on. They did the concert standard of leaving for a brief period to prepare for the encore. During this time the band’s violinist and keyboard player Ryan Delahoussaye come back out and played an incredible and beautiful violin solo. Afterward Justin comes back to the stage to play an acoustic piece before being joined by the rest of the band. The band closed their setlist with their most recent single Should be Loved.
Blue October’s Setlist: (I’m missing one or two songs simply because i don’t know their names)
- Come In Closer
- Say It
- She’s My Ride Home
- Been Down
- Dirt Room
- Razorblade
- Picking Up The Pieces
- Congratulations
- Into The Ocean
- X Amount Of Words
- Jump Rope
- Violin Solo
- Acoustic Piece
- Hate Me
- Should Be Loved
The website’s for the causes involved in the Pick Up The Phone Tour are:
http://www.hopeline.com/
http://www.twloha.com/
http://postsecret.blogspot.com/
Awesome coverage. Sounds like a great show. Though I wonder why these musicians came together with this cause.
Unfortunately i couldn’t find any info on that beyond knowing that Justin from Blue October suffered from severe depression and probably wanted to give back since he struggled with some of the issues that this tour is trying to aid in helping.
dang cool info bro.
Thanks man. Besides just reviewing the show i wanted to share the information about the great cause they’re supporting too!