Saturday Was One Hot Night With OneRepublic in Saint Louis
–by Laura Tucker
On Saturday, the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre hosted one of the biggest bands in music, OneRepublic, along with not one, but two opening acts.
Leading the way was 19-year-old BRYNN CARTELLI. The lovely, soft-spoken, and very talented, singer-songwriter kept the sweltering audience calm while awaiting the next act. Her music goes down as easy as a cool drink of water on a hot summer day. Her second number really showed off her writing skills as well as her personality. She sings about filling her best friend’s shoes to break up with her boyfriend. Clever.
Brynn mentions being from the East coast, but she weathered the St. Louis heat like a champ. Ryan Tedder asked us to give her one more round of applause at the end of the night because the heat index was 108 when she took the stage at 7:00.
Next up, NEEDTOBREATHE. They came out swinging with the song “Great Night” as if they had a crystal ball into our evening’s future. Their straight-forward and unapologetic delivery says “we came here to kick-butt and chew bubble gum” And from where I was standing, they were all out of bubble gum!
Though brothers Bear and Bo Rinehart started this journey back in 2001, the band is currently composed of the big vocals and big personality of William “Bear” Rinehart, Seth Bolt on bass, Josh Lovelace on keyboard, Randall Harris, keeping a thunderous beat on the drums and Tyler Burkum on lead guitar. Sprinkle in some mandolin, some violin and a little harmonica, and you get NEEDTOBREATHE. It’s actually a bit hard to describe. Kind of like Mumford and Sons meets Kings of Leon.
They played well-known numbers from their library of eight albums and threw in the Tom Petty classic, “American Gir” for good measure.
During the song “Sunshine”, Bear left the stage and serenaded the crowd up close as he walked through the audience, high-fiving delighted fans. Many were there just for them.
But it was “Brother (Let Me Be Your Shelter)” Written by Gavin Degraw and the Rinehart brothers that was the highlight of the set. This powerful ballad had the audience on their feet and singing in harmony as it moved like a wave thought the amphitheatre. It made us feel like we’d been taken to church instead of an outdoor music venue; and the energy was full-gospel!
This particular song has, at times, labeled them Christian-rock artists by showering them with accolades from that particular genre but they don’t want to be labeled because their music is not just one thing. Amen to that!
By 9:15 some of the heat had subsided but the humidity lingered for headliners ONEREPUBLIC on their “Never Ending Summer Tour”.
The six-member, chart-topping, pop rock group consisting of lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tedder, lead guitarist and violist Zach Filkins, rhythm guitarist Drew Brown, bassist and cellist Brent Kutzle, drummer Eddie Fisher and keyboardist and violinist Brian Willett seemed to be right at home in our Midwest sauna and with a foggy intro, the show began with a bang! Confetti canons fired and the night was underway with song “Kids”. The party was on!
Pulling from fifteen years of hits, they rolled right into “Good Life” from their Waking Up Album. Incidentally, that song was named one of the best whistling songs of all time by Rolling Stone. The band has also formed the GOOD LIFE FOUNDATION that operates on the belief that everyone deserves a good life, despite the circumstances they were born into. Some of the organizations supported by the foundation are Operation Smile, Save the Children, There with Care, and one that finds and rescues victims of human trafficking, called IJM. Every concert ticket sold donates $1 to this particular cause. To learn more, just hop over to OneRepublic’s website, OneRepublic.com. Now back to the show.
Slowing it down just a bit to play “Stop and Stare”, the band delivers a performance that you would expect from this level of experience and professionalism. It’s obvious that they have toured the world and spent years perfecting their craft. The stage show added a visual layer of entertainment with ever-changing scenes that make you feel like you are following them around the world.
Another favorite, “Secrets”, showcases Brent Kutzle the cello and it’s chords are instantly recognizable. The crowd was singing along and swaying in unison. This particular song brings back memories for me. I loved it so much when it came out that I made it my ringtone, driving my family absolutely crazy with every call! What can I say, I’m a sucker for strings.
After “Loves Run Out” we are brought to a part of the show that not many artists can pull off. They can cover tunes and do a great job but can they say they own the rights? It’s becoming common knowledge that Ryan Tedder is more that just a pretty face and a great front man, he’s one of the best songwriters and producers in the business. He was called “The Undercover King of Pop” by Billboard magazine when he graced the magazine’s cover in 2014. His list of song credits includes hits for artists such as Beyonce, Ellie Goulding, Maroon 5, Demi Lovato, Leona Lewis, Ariana Grande, Adele, The Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift, and Justin Bieber. Just to name a few.
The band performs Beyonce’s “Halo” and then begins a medley of some of those other hits. Ryan gives us a sneak peak into the process when he does an impression of Adele talking about the rumors swirling around her relationship from her award-winning 21 Album. “She just kept saying, rumor has it this and rumor has it that”. The two of them collaborated and the song was written on the spot. And, as “Rumor Has It”, it went on to become a smash hit all around the world thanks to the incredible delivery of Adele and the Midas Touch of Tedder.
After performing several hits written for other artists, they come back to their own with “Feel Again”, a song about going from feeling numb to finding renewed life in a new relationship. We were happy to clap along and keep the upbeat mood intact. During the part of the song that lingers for just a bit, the night suddenly seemed magical as a breeze blew through the amphitheater and a long piece of confetti paper lost hold of the rafters and drifted down, almost on cue.
An introduction to their latest song “I Ain’t Worried” came from Tom Cruise himself on the massive video screen at the back of the stage. He said One Republic nailed it with this song and it became the theme to Top Gun: Maverick. They played the single while scenes from the movie played in the background. The crowd seemed to have that loving feeling for both Cruise and OneRepublic.
Then, “Apologize”, their first big hit from the 2007 album “Dreaming Out Loud”. We got the chance to harmonize in three sections as Tedder instructed. We sounded great! “I Lived” came next and is one of those songs that really makes you think. With lines like “I hope you spend your days, and they all add up”, no wonder this guy is a hit-maker. Who could argue with that? The upbeat and motivating music that accompanies the inspiring words just makes you feel like sky-diving or something.
They rounded out the night with “Counting Stars” and I think we are all counting our lucky stars to be part of such a great night.
If you follow One Republic on Instagram, there was a message for us: “St. Louis, it was as fun as it was hot, and it was incredibly hot!”
Be sure to check out the gallery of photos from the night below the setlist.
OneRepublic Setlist:
Kids
Good Life
Stop and Stare
Rescue Me
Secrets
Wherever I Go
Love Runs Out
Halo
Bleeding Love/Burn/Rumour Has It/Maps/Love Somebody/That’s What I Want
Sucker
Feel Again
I Ain’t Worried
Apologize
I Lived
Encore:
Counting Stars
If I Lose Myself
