Snow Patrol are a Scottish Irish band from Dundee Scotland, and other parts of Northern Ireland (that means they are confused about many things, but likely have a general disdain for the English government). They have been together as a band since the early 90s, then became “Snow Patrol” in 1997. Touring North America now, they bring 31 years of great music, and performances everywhere they go. (I know it’s 31 years cause the singer Gary Lightbody told us all during the set how long it’s been).
There is NOTHING short of amazing, every song, and the rich history has brought them to this wonderful moment.
Concert Review
Artist : Snow Patrol
Venue : The Union Events Center
City: Salt Lake City, UT
Supporting Act: Sorcha Richardson
The last time Snow Patrol played in Salt Lake was only a few years ago at and sold out “The Depot” ‘s 860 capacity. This time, they played “The Union” and it was sold out to the doors of 3000+ and it was no surprise. They have filled stadiums in Europe, so we are happy to have them here in a more “intimate” setting.
SORCHA RICHARDSON
Opening the show was the Irish female vocalist Sorcha Richardson, she had this groovy cool sound as if she were the young female version of Robyn Hitchcock, a great sound, and a very entertaining set. Her songs were all very different from each other, and you could still notice that, from an acoustic set. Something I was very impressed with, though she hasn’t released new material since 2002, she still was impressive enough for Snow Patrol to take her on tour with them, check her out, nuff said.
SNOW PATROL
An almost instant changeover the stage went dark and we waited through an intro, and then the screen behind them simply lit up with the title “Snow Patrol”, there was a heart then the words “Salt Lake City”. The band walked out on stage, Gary taking the center and saying ” Salt Lake City, Good evening!!”, and suddenly the backdrop looked like a row of Manhattan high rises, and they kicked off the set with “Take Back The City”. The entire band was rather animated with no one staying put at their “stations”, everyone in the band was playing only barely out of reach of their mics, just to get back in time to sing their lines. Everyone on stage was all smiles, and it was clear they were going to have a good time giving us their set, with Gary finishing the final measures a-Capella.
With the stage lit in all red, Gary picked up what looked like a telecaster, and they went into “Chocolate”. With all the charisma in the world, and not entirely being a great dancer with his guitar in hand, he asked for everyone to cheer on in the end “Whahoooooooaooooooo”, and we did it with him, just because he asked.
They played “Called Out In The Dark” with Gary holding the mic and pacing back and forth from the front to the back of the stage, slightly dancing and going up front to make eye contact with everyone. The guitar line sounded rather raw, and just as tight as the rest of the band, I enjoyed how the song sounded considerably different live, and still kept the spirit of the song. Gary once again invited the punters to sing along, not even holding the mic out to them to signal, he just said “Come on, let’s have it”, and we did it “We are listening, and we’re not blind”, almost as if he wanted us to sing it for THEM.
They played “ALL”, and then trying to kick off into “Crack the Shutters” there were a couple of false starts, with someone being out of key, or slightly off tempo. Gary stopped the song, and they had to muck about getting back in sync, then he apologized to the punters, saying “I promise this will be the last time, this will be the final attempt”. With a film of walking through a forest and the light coming through the trees behind them, they nailed it, everyone was in sync, and it finished without a hitch. It is with moments like this when you can see a band not take themselves seriously, have a hiccup, still laugh at themselves, and banter between themselves and the punters.
They played “Run” in a very somber mood, with the bassline leading the way for the rest of the band. Taking the mic Gary sang the opening to “The Beginning”, while the base drum was hitting hard keeping the tempo before the rest of the band came in filling in the paces, with a backdrop of a large spiral of brilliant colors, going from looking like a tunnel, to the “Zen” symbol turning, that made the whole song fit with the moment.
With the well-known piano line, we knew it was “The Lighting Strike” (What If This Storm Ends), the guitarist chimed in and stood off with Gary and his guitar looking like they were going to duel, and the backdrop was of a beautiful tree that began turning with each leaf a different color. Lighting was flashing and you could barely see the band, only silhouettes, then the guitarist took us down a very emotional solo that suddenly was as important as the singing and lyrics. This was all very moving, with the band no longer being the visuals to focus on. This part reminded me of how U2 would close the set of their “ZOO TV” tour, really making themselves insignificant against what was on the screen, almost forgetting that they were there. This was magnificent, and we were only halfway through the set.
They turned the tone down, and played a stripped down “Talking About Hope” with all of them singing together, it touched everyone there, like we just melted.
Not to say that this was the moment we were all waiting for (But yeah it was) Gary started playing the two simple chords with Connolly playing the individual notes, All this seems strange and untrue, and I won’t waste a minute, without you”. The bass and drums started to follow, and to pure perfection they went into “Tell me that you’ll open your eyes”. A powerful song about someone who has put so much into a relationship with a person, needing them to understand what has transpired after all this time, and to see that where they have been sitting is not at all where this friendship is or should be. One last attempt as someone that they love so much to see the beautiful reality that is out there, as Plato’s allegory of the cave, to “step out of this dark room for the last time” there were images from the galaxy probably the Hubble Telescope showing the expanses of the universe that is outside waiting for this person if they would “Just open their eyes”. Singing at the end, “I still love you, I always will, I love you still, I love you still” with all the devotion to this person, I do hope it was a happy ending, this song deserves it.
While we were all recovering from that, they played “Make This Go On Forever” and then “Shut Your Eyes”. They played “Heal Me” and then Gary told us all how much they had enjoyed playing for us, and that he couldn’t believe that they had been doing this for 31 years, with a different name to start with, but that none of them in the band ever thought they would still be here doing this so many years later. Hearing him say this was strange because that made them sound like an “old” band, like a classic rock band or something. They can’t be “old” I’ve only gotten into them over the last 15 years, they are still new, current, and happening.
Holding his guitar and starting with the simple two notes, Gary sang “We’ll do it all, everything on our own” The band played quietly behind, while everyone sang along “If I lay here, If I just lay here, and just forget the world” as the band built up on the drums getting louder as everyone was singing this one. It felt like it was OUR song this way. Then at the 2nd chorus, they took it to new heights, as everyone was feeling this song, more than we were hearing it. A timeless song that everyone loved together, confirming the once “There is nothing more powerful than the shared experience”, this was proof of that.
He thanked us for singing with him, and said “Ok Salt Lake City, this is our last song tonight” and they played “You’re All I Have”, with the while venue dancing up and down feeling like we have successfully gotten all of our parts down for everyone to sing along to, this was a great way to finish out the first part of the set.
As they left the stage, I went up to the balcony to see how they would finish this set. After a few minutes of everyone cheering, they came back onstage and bantered with the audience again. Gary said “Ok, we got one more for you, ok, TWO actually. BUT this one, it’s like you still need to finish your vegetables before you get dessert, this is your vegetables, so sit down and eat them”, an unusual analogy from the stage, but we all laughed. With that, the band played “What If This Is All The Love You Ever Get?”. With a burning heart on the backdrop, it felt like a campfire sing-along, going soft to the parts right before he said “WHAT IF HURTS?” with everyone as quiet enough as to let a pin drop.
To great cheers, Gary said “Ok, now it’s time for dessert…. Because you’ve all been good”, we knew this one was on the docket, because it’s a fave of fans and theirs alike, and they closed out the evening with “Just Say Yes”.
Almost as quickly as it began, the Snow Patrol set was over. With a wonderful performance, this was probably the smallest venue on the tour (and it’s still pretty big), they sounded incredible, we only could have asked for a couple more songs, but this setlist was filled with enough for everyone who has been listening to them, no matter how long.
In the book “Exit Stage Left” (The Curious Afterlife of Pop Stars) Nick Duerden wrote an entire chapter about Snow Patrol, and how as they were climbing the ranks, with their sound, filling stadiums, and headlining Glastonbury, Gary had said he watched U2 closely, every move, how they handled themselves on stage, etc. He said he wanted to emulate what Bono was doing, but the truth is, there is already one Bono, and Gary doesn’t need to emulate what Bono has, he already has all he needs to grace the crowd, connect with them, and with his band, they can bring the house down on their terms, their way.
A Snow Patrol gig is something everyone who loves music should experience. Grab a gig when you can, this is the kind of gig you would tell your grandkids about.
#snowpatrol #garylightbody #timelessrock #scotsirishrock