OneRepublic overcome glitches to finish show strong in Saint Louis
–By Sean Derrick
When it rains it seems to pour. At least that is what OneRepublic must have thought as the night progressed for their show Saturday at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Saint Louis.
First, their opening act, James Arthur, fell ill and couldn’t perform. This led to the decision to move the support act, Fitz and the Tantrums, up from their regularly scheduled stage time, but not too far ahead as to create a large down time between acts.
Fitz and the Tantrums did their part, putting on a high-energy show in the glaring sun that made viewing anything without sunglasses a dangerous proposition, all without missing a beat. They are a fun band to see live, filled with powerhouse vocals from co-lead vocalists Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs and an infectious toe-tapping sound with songs like “The Walker”, HandClap” and “Spark”. It’s hard to not feel good and not move while seeing this band.
But just as things seemed back in control technical glitches were abundant in the setting up of the stage for OneRepublic, forcing a delay of nearly 30 minutes and also forced OneRepublic to switch up their setlist a bit to accommodate the revised schedule. Thankfully, that seemed to be the end of the unfortunate happenings as OneRepublic settled in for a vibrant show that seemed itself to go off without a hitch.
After kicking the show off with ” Stop and Stare”, “Secrets” and “Kids” lead vocalist Ryan Tedder joked with the crowd that “not if, but when we screw up just smile and continue singing along.” For being only the 2nd night on the 2017 Honda Civic Tour it couldn’t have gone much better, music-wise.
The only noticeable gaffe came as Tedder was covering the James Arthur hit “Say You Won’t Let Go” in honor of Arthur, who tried to perform, but became a last minute scratch. To his credit, Tedder had only learned the song 20 minutes prior to going on stage.
Vocally, Tedder was superb, showcasing his strong vocal range on songs like “All the Right Moves”, “Apologize” and the Beyoncé cover “Halo”, one of the many songs he has co-written. The rest of the band (guitarists Zach Filkins and Drew Brown, drummer Eddie Fisher, bassist Brent Kutzle and keyboardist Brian Willett) were stellar and tight in their execution. The band also debuted a new song, “Rich Love”, which was an upbeat song with a catchy hook.
The stage setup was eye-catching and intriguing. It gave the band the appearance of performing inside a pyramid complete with triangle-shaped video screens on each side. This coupled with an impressive laser and smoke display gave the crowd a great treat for their visual senses to accompany the top-notch performance from the band.
But it was Tedder’s performance that stood out, from the highlight of “I Lived” to literally being mobbed by fans as he tried to make his way to the back of the seated area. Fans were drawn to his every move and note.
Tedder also tried his hand at another one of his songs he co-wrote “Rumor Has It”, the Adele smash, with help from Fitzpatrick and Scaggs as guest vocals. With the success of OneRepublic it can be easy to forget that Tedder is a seriously accomplished song writer in his own right. Having co-written and/or produced many major hits by the world’s biggest artists. And in doing so, and putting as much creativity into OneRepublic songs it is a no-brainer that the band has such a vast following.
And for fans who aren’t familiar with the band, all you need to do is check out the setlist below and odds are you will be thinking “Oh, they sang THAT song? I didn’t know that!” Well, you know now. With 47 more shows there are plenty of chances to get acquainted with the band’s music. And as good as they are on record, they are even better live. Saturday night proved that, glitches and all.
Be sure to check out the photo gallery after the setlists.
OneRepublic Setlist:
Stop and Stare
Secrets
Kids
Good Life
Wherever I Go
Better
Feel Again
Halo (Beyoncé cover)
Happier (Ed Sheeran cover)
Come Home
Say You Won’t Let Go (James Arthur Cover)
I Lived
Let’s Hurt Tonight
All the Right Moves
Apologize
Rich Love
If I Lose Myself
Encore:
Counting Stars
Rumor Has It (Adele cover, with Fitz and the Tantrums)
Love Runs Out
Fitz and the Tantrums Setlist:
Moneygrabber
Spark
Complicated
More Than Just A Dream
Out of My League
Fool
Burn It Down
Roll Up
HandClap
The Walker
OneRepublic not One Republic
Ooops. Thanks for the catch. I must have been more tired than I thought when I posted that. haha