The Fray

A life time can be highlighted with a lot of first. A child's first step. The first birthday present. A family's first Christmas in a new house. What these firsts have in common is that they tend to leave a strong first impression. Well, after twenty years, I attended my first ever concert. The Fray, an alternative rock band, came to play at the Target Center in Minneapolis. I hadn't really heard of The Fray before this concert, but when my friends were interested in going, I began to listen to their music. I was surprised to find that I was already familiar with some of their songs, especially their hit singles "How To Save a Life" and "Over My Head (Cable Car)". Thus, in preparation for the concert, I borrowed my dad's earphones and was listening non-stop to their music. I've got to say I really like alternative rock. From Keane to Switchfoot to The Fray, I'm attracted to their strong ballads along with original lyrics. I also fancy the piano being used in a rock band.

The concert was scheduled to start at 7:30pm. I left work around 5:00pm and congregated at my friend's house. We left for the concert around 6:30pm. Usually, it doesn't take an hour to get to Minneapolis, but we were cautious of traffic. Thankfully it wasn't too congested and we got there by 7:35pm. As with any other concert, being tardy isn't the end of the world since there are always warm up bands. However, because we were a bit late, we missed the name of the first warm up band. After performing for about an hour, the band bid adieu. We were anxiously expecting The Fray to take center stage only to be greeted by another warm up band. It turned out the second band was OK go. The band is most famous for their innovative music video on treadmills. If you haven't seen it, I urge you to check them out on youtube.

Finally, at 9:30pm, the lights dimmed. The video screen in the back streamed a singular green line. The air was heavy with eager anticipation, as everyone held their breathe. The green line started to stream faster. Then, a small pulse rose from the line. More peaks started rising, and everyone's heart began to beat in unison with the video pulse. Then, a singular resonant stroke of the piano reverberated throughout the entire stadium. The heavy silence was shattered by the piercing screams of all the crazy fan girls and myself.

The whole night was a wonderful experience. The lighting created a very effective mood. Sometimes solemn, other times pensive, the lighting provided wonderful visual stimuli. The music itself was incredible. There was no discernable differences between their live performance and their album, which was an incredible achievement. I was singing in public for the first time as I hummed along to their songs. Thankfully there were enough high school girls to drown out my voice. The band mixed the night with songs from their album and some new material. My favorite was their cover of Shakira's Hips Don't Lie, which The Fray sang in honor of the band's new bassist, who was celebrating his first tour with the band and his birthday. The concert came to a conclusion around 11:30. Even though we had just been sitting for 4 hours, our stomach announced that they were hungry. So, we made a small detour to Wendy's before heading home.

So, first impressions: The Fray is awesome, concerts have such an unique atmosphere, binoculars are useful when sitting in the rafters, and life is good with friends!

Anyone up for another concert this summer?