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I truly love music. Who doesn’t, right? The One Republic “Native” Summer Tour featuring the Script and the American Authors is a great reminder of why we love music, especially live music in the summertime. It’s a show that you won’t want to miss.
As many of you may know, One Republic was dropped from their label, Columbia Records, before “Apologize” took the world by storm (thanks to Timbaland’s Shock Value Album). In many regards, One Republic is a band made for the fans, by the fans. If not for the abundance of fan-love shown the band online through sites like MySpace (yes that MySpace!) One Republic might not have become the mega band they are today.
I only bring this up, because despite their tremendous success, the band displays a tangible sincerity, humility, and appreciation of their fans, like few others. This relationship and appreciation of their audience serves to only enhance the concert going experience.
In fact, I happen to run into One Republic front man Ryan Tedder at the Ravens vs. 49ers SuperBowl in New Orleans in 2013. He was so friendly and down to earth, like any other fan at the game that most people (myself included) didn’t realize he was a celebrity, until later in the evening.
As the “Native” Summer Tour continues, here’s a quick review of the highlights from the June 19, 2014 show at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL plus some tips and tricks for those of you planning to attend a future show of the tour, and/or a future concert at Ravinia.
The basics
The scheduled show time printed on the tickets was 6:30 pm CST for the Thursday, June 19, 2014 show. The listed show time on sites like Stubhub was 7pm CST. The Script, with help from American Authors, took the stage before 7:30 pm CST and played a little over a half hour set, which included “Breakeven,” and ended with their hit “Hall of Fame”. After another 20 minute break, One Republic took the stage at around 8:30 pm CST for what normally would have been a 2 hour show. However, due to the threat of heavy storms in the area, the band condensed their performance in case the show was cut short.
Shortly into the concert, Ryan Tedder led that audience in a rendition of “rain, rain, go away” in hopes of keeping the thunderstorms at bay. An hour into the concert, the band closed out their set and it appeared that concert was over. However, the anti-rain dance must have worked, as a few minutes later, the band returned for their encore and informed the audience that they had been given the all clear to complete their set.
The end result was a jam packed 90 minute set (without an intermission) that wrapped up at approximately 10pm CST.
Below is the set list from the Native Summer Tour (may vary slightly from show to show).
- Don’t Look Down
- Light it Up
- Secrets
- All the Right Moves
- What You Wanted
- Stop and Stare
- Something I Need
- Spanish Guitar Medley
- Apologize
- Sam Smith’s Stay with Me
- Preacher
- Come Home
- Counting Stars
- Good Life
- Can’t Stop
- Feel Again
- I Lived
Encore
- Love Runs Out
- What a Wonderful World
- Life in Color
- If I Lose Myself
The experience
The opening act has become passé when it comes to concerts these days. A quality opening act is even rarer. The “Native” Summer Tour was happily an exception to that trend, as they got the party started with quality performances from The Script and the American Authors. These bands are very talented in their own right, with hits such as “Best Day of My Life” by American Authors and the Script’s “Breakeven (Falling to Pieces)” & “Hall of Fame.” American Authors and the Script each bring a tremendous amount of energy to their performances, while managing to accomplish exactly what an opening band should strive to deliver; an introduction of their music to fans who may not yet be familiar with the bands in an exciting entertaining way that amps up the crowd for the headliners. By the end of the night you’ll realize that something happened to you on the way to the One Republic concert; you became a fan of American Authors, and the Script (if you weren’t already).
By the time One Republic takes the stage, you’ll be about an hour to an hour and a half in to your evening. The energy and anticipation will be palpable. What comes next is something more than just a good rock show, however. What you’ll experience is something that’s become a bit of a lost art in auto tune era; talent, real talent.
One Republic doesn’t try to overwhelm you with a lot of gimmicks and special effects. Their stage is intimate, and manages to stay that way despite the diamond cut video screens that fill the backdrop behind them. (A somewhat similar setup to the Depeche Mode tour from earlier this year, if any of you happened to catch that).
What will hit you smack in the face as you’re watching the “Native” show is that these guys are just really talented musicians, singers, and songwriters. Ryan Tedder plays the guitar, piano, and tambourine while showing off his range and stamina during the packed set.
Chicagoan (LaGrange, IL) Zach Filkins is a talented yet unassuming on guitar (Drew Brown is on lead guitar) and backup vocals. He and Tedder perform so well together it’s no wonder they’ve been friends and bandmates for over 18 years.
Drummer Eddie Fisher lays the beat that is of course the backbone of the sound as it should be in any band, while bassist & cellist Brent Kutzle is certainly a breakout star of the concert. It’s not often a rock band with as many hits as One Republic will have a classical foundation to their sound, but watching them perform live will make it abundantly clear how important and unique Kutzle’s contributions are to the band.
The good thing about the Native set is that they don’t make you wait long for the established hits. Sometimes bands with new(er) albums only perform their older hits to close the show, or not at all. The Native set does a good job of mixing in the old and the new with tracks like “Secrets,” “All the Right Moves,” and “Stop and Stare” coming early on in the performance.
The Spanish Guitar medley is really the only break in the show, where Zach Filkins solos (and solos well) while the remaining members of the band take a short off stage breather.
During the performance of “Counting Stars,” Ryan Tedder ran off stage into the audience and through the aisles. He then went out to the edge of the pavilion near the lawn to great the tens of thousands of fans that were enjoying the performance from the picnic areas. He told that audience that before he was successful he couldn’t afford the good seats and was “that guy” in the back of the venue. He stayed true to his roots and sent a shout out to his fans in back where he used to spend his concert days.
During “Come Home” the diamond video screens in the back showed images of Chicago, including the Bean and historic Wrigley Field. Tedder nudged Filkins during the song and Filkins seemed to take in moment of playing before the home crowd once again.
As an introduction to “Something I Need,” Tedder encouraged the audience to sing along, explaining that the band wrote the song as their rendition of a bar-closing anthem and had 50 people lend voices to the chorus in the studio. The song had a “Friends in Low Places” vibe and reminded me a little of Justin Timberlake’s “I’ve been Drinking.”
A feel good moment in the show is when the band played “Feel Again.” This song was a part of the Save the Children Every Beat Matters Campaign, and all proceeds from the digital sales of the song when it was released were donated to Save the Children. Just another reason to be a One Republic fan.
In short, the Native show will have you on your feet, singing and clapping along to the band’s countless hits. Don’t expect a lot of special effects or a big stage production; just a good old fashion rock show.
Tips and tricks
Here are a few suggestions that I hope you’ll find helpful if you’re attending the “Native” Summer Tour and/or another show at Ravinia Festival in the near future.
- For outdoor venues like Ravinia Festival, it’s ok to bring the kids, as long as the weather cooperates. There were a lot of families at the June 19, 2014 show. The ample picnic lawn seating area, and the kid friendly food options, make it easy to make a night at Ravinia a family affair. Just keep in mind that the Native show did not end till 10pm, and while One Republic is a pretty “clean” band, there were a few cuss words uttered on stage.
- Tickets sold out quickly to this concert, though there were about 100 tickets available on Stubhub at or near show time. If you’re not able to get a seat close to the stage, you’re fine sitting anywhere in the pavilion. The two video screens will ensure you don’t miss what’s happening on stage. However, if you don’t get a pavilion ticket at all, then just enjoy the lawn and picnic areas with friends and good food, because while you’ll be able to hear the entire show, you likely won’t see any of it.
- There was no intermission once One Republic took the stage. That may have been due to the Thunderstorm warnings, but just be aware that it’s possible that you’ll have to plan your breaks before and after the show if you don’t want to miss anything. There was a 20 minute break between the Script and One Republic, however, so use that time wisely.
- The aisle seats, even in the back rows of the pavilion, have the added benefit of being accessible to the artists when they do their run-through of the audience. I had an aisle seat and had all the bands run right by me during their performances
- For tickets to the sold out tour, monitor the resale websites like Stub Hub closely. At or around show time, the pavilion seats were selling for nearly twice face value. Face value for my row 29 center seats was approximately $75 with Stubhub prices ranging between $100 and $250 for similar seats just hours before the show.
- If you’re seeing a show at Ravinia, try to get a pavilion ticket so you can see the stage and be covered by the roof in case of rain. If you don’t get a pavilion seat, arrive early to stake out your picnic seating. Ravinia allows you to bring food and drink in from the outside so have your picnic ready to go and enjoy the atmosphere. There’s also plenty of food and drink available if you choose not to bring your own. Food options range from $5 to $15 and include pizza, hot dogs, Ice Cream, and much more. Coffee and Hot Chocolate starts around $3 and Beer is about $8. Wines is available too, but didn’t seem like as good value given the small cups and high price. You also can reserve a table and have Ravinia cater your picnic, and their spread is quite nice. Ravinia also has a sponsored heated VIP area with couches and a bar.
- If you park at the Botanic Gardens lot and take a shuttle to Ravinia, try to leave before the last song of the Encore. The shuttle line once the concert ends is very long and it can take you over a half hour to get your shuttle back to your car.
The wrap up
The Script, the American Authors, and One Republic, make for a fun rock show. Don’t expect a highly choreographed stage show, and it doesn’t really matter much where you sit (unless you sit very close to the stage). Just enjoy the great music, the atmosphere, the libations, and have a good time!
Future dates
The “Native” Summer Tour continues on. Check out future tour dates and more information at:
http://onerepublic.com/events and http://www.nativesummer.com/welcome
