I'd gone to the Wiltern website and it mentioned that no flash photography was allowed. So these photos are taken using 3200 ISO. Since we weren't right next to the stage, using flash wouldn't have mattered anyways.
I think the below is the best photo of the night.
And this one comes in a close second.
The lead singer, Jon Foreman, at this pointed started to make his way through the audience.
He went through the first section of the general admission area and ended up standing on the railing of the second section. And as I mentioned above, my friends and I were right there. So you see some rather close shots of him. I guess I could have turned on my flash, but I was a bit concerned about blinding him, considering the fact that he was on a railing.
My cute story. There was a young girl, perhaps 12, who I suspect was right by the stage. As Jon Foreman made his way through the crowd, I think she followed him. When he got to our railing, she squeezed herself towards the other railing and then sat atop of it. Now I suspect that security usually frowns on this. I waited for security to come by, but none did. She just sat there, looking in awe as Jon Foreman sang atop the railing. After a few minutes her mother (or guardian) came over and tapped her on the shoulder saying it was time to come back over. The young girl didn't complain. She got back down on the floor and they headed back towards the front of the stage. I wonder if Jon Foreman noticed this. I thought it was a very sweet moment.
And on my front. For a brief moment, Jon Foreman started to shake hands with the audience. I said to myself, why not, and briefly shook his hand.
Something that I've noticed at various music venues also happened here. Actually, some of my friends had passes for a meet and great with Switchfoot so they left the area. And in surged a number of Blue October fans: Switchfoot fans out, Blue October fans in. I say the super cool thing about Blue October, they have a violinist. The guy also plays the guitar so when he was playing his violin, he'd have his guitar, also. So you had a guy walking around with to instruments -- anyways, I found that interesting.
Blue October started off with a bang.
A lot of their songs had very personal lyrics.
And the fans ate it up.
Blue October did have an acoustic three song set. I was sort of surprised by this -- of course, this is the first time I've seen them. In my opinion, it was taking a chance that the audience would stay focused. I more than respect them for that move.
For some reason, I think I got better shows of Switchfoot than of Blue October. I think it had something to do with the lighting that each band used. Each used different lighting, Switchfoot had more white while Blue October went with . . . blue.
Switchfoot played for about an hour. Blue October played for about 1 1/2 hours. I'd say the audience was 60/40. 60% Blue October fans. 40% Switchfoot fans. I was told that when the doors opened, the line outside stretched around a corner. Who do I think had the better set? Well, I'm bias, of course. I think Switchfoot had the better set; however, I think their set at their Bro-Am was just slightly better. I think perhaps it had something to do with the crowd. Obviously, at the Bro-Am, 100% of the fans were there for Switchfoot while the fan base at the Wiltern was more diverse. As for Blue October's set. I liked it, but I thought it was a bit up and down at moments. I'm not sure they're really able to carry a 1 1/2 hour set. Hopefully, that isn't seen as too big of a knock, because there were definitely moments where they rocked it and I thought the acoustic set was great. It is like seeing a good movie, but thinking, it would be great if they'd trimmed 15 to 20 minutes off.
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