Switchfoot performs at X103.9’s Merry Meltdown at Ontario’s Citizens Business Bank Arena. (Terry Pierson/Staff Photographer)
Switchfoot is a headliner in their own right, so seeing them play X103.9’s Merry Meltdown was a special treat for Inland fans.
The San Diego band opened its set with “Afterlife” and then had the whole crowd singing to hit “Meant to Live.”
PHOTOS: Dose of Adolescence, Lit, The Dirty Heads | PHOTOS: Sick Puppies, Anberlin, Switchfoot, P.O.D. |STORY Merry Meltdown brings bands close to fans
Singer Jon Foreman dove into the crowd on that second song and remained close with them through the remainder of the set, including the band’s cover of the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage.”
They brought up Sick Puppies singer Shim Moore to finish the song and at the end of it, Foreman went into the crowd and over to the seats on both sides of the arena.
“I feel like I want to keep the party going,” Foreman said standing atop the barrier separating one side of the seats from the floor.
The band launched into “The Original,” while Foreman sang the lyrics while running around the arena, climbing into the seats, shaking hands and high-fiving fans.
Jon Foreman, of Switchfoot, sings to the crowd at Citizens Business Bank Arena for X103.9’s Merry Meltdown on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012. (Terry Pierson/Staff Photographer)
When he finally returned to the stage, the moved into a festive song–a cover of “Feliz Navidad.”
Other highlights included “Dare You to Move” and “Dark Horses” and set closer “The Sound.”
And when you thought it just couldn’t get any more rock ‘n’ roll, Foreman, playing his guitar, climbed atop the drum riser and balanced on top of the big bass drum, waiting for the climax to leap off in pitch-perfect rock star fashion.
Bravo to Switchfoot, no idea how P.O.D. follows that.