SNOWPATROL

The beginning of the concert season continued with a performance by Snow Patrol this Friday night at the Fillmore Auditorium, the first night on their spring tour.  The sold out show drew in a crowd early with lines stretching over a block and a half to get into the venue. I took my teenage daughter and one of her friends to the show, surprised to see that most of the people in attendance were closer to my age than theirs.  Having arrived later than usual, I had no choice but to stand about 50 feet from the stage.

Ed Sheeran, the UK based singer/songwriter, opened the show with his one man act, using special effects recording techniques to create a layered sound that made gave the appearance of there being a full band behind him.   Being the opener for a restless crowd who has already been waiting over an hour to get in was challenge enough, but doing so with only the strength of your vocal ability accompanied by an acoustic guitar upped the stakes a bit more.

A reviewer said:

Throat issues and rockin’ anthems don’t exactly go together, but Snow Patrol made it work Friday night when the Scottish/Irish band brought its Fallen Empires tour to the Fillmore Auditorium. Lead singer Gary Lightbody apologized repeatedly. “We’ll do better next time, I promise,” he said at one point, about the fact that his voice was faltering, and “How do you guys deal with this altitude; it’s crazy?” he asked, clearly out of breath, as he sucked down water at every chance, sometimes in the middle of songs.

Add the fact that the band had periodic technical difficulties, and you’d think the crowd would have started chucking tomatoes. Not so. The show was a hand-waving dancefest, spirited and upbeat, and sometimes surprisingly so for a band often better known for its wistful, pensive ballads.

Credit Lightbody himself for keeping everyone happy. Sure, the rest of the band holds up their end of things – particularly guitarist Nathan Connolly and drummer Jonny Quinn, the latter of whom is responsible for driving home the points this endearingly earnest band is always making – but it was shaggy-haired Lightbody who came out with his hands spread wide to the crowd to start them off with a version of “Hands Open” that sent out sharp, crowd-pumping guitar ripples.

Read it all here, with more pictures:
http://www.heyreverb.com/2012/04/30/snow-patrol-fillmore-denver-photos-review/

More pictures here:
http://www.whatstheruckus.com/2012/05/photos-snow-patrol-at-the-fillmore-denver/

Download the show here:
https://www.rapidshare.com/#!download|755|1222351896|SP_Fillmore_2012-04-27.rar|233851