The Fray brought out pop-rock in full force, with openers Oh Honey and Barcelona, and even a song about the Lord their God to Hard Rock Live in Hollywood last night.
Oh Honey warmed up the crowd with jokes about encountering gators, scary rides at Disney, and wanting people to stalk the band on Facebook like it's Justin Bieber. The band played its most popular song "Be Okay," and I was one of many in the audience who was left wanting to know more about this opening act. The group isn't a household name, and one of the band members joked, "We're going to play a new song. Well, if you've never heard of us before then these are all new, but this one is new for us."
After Oh Honey, Barcelona hit the stage with some heavy screaming, especially from a particular group of young girls in the front row who were most likely on the verge of fainting.
The crowd went really nuts though when The Fray's Isaac Slade waltzed onto the stage to join the act for a very memorable version of "Fall in Love." After flirting with the ladies in the crowd and playing a sexy and energetic set, the boys left, but not before assuring everyone that the Fray would "melt your faces off," which apparently is a good thing.
The Fray absolutely killed it from the moment it started with "Closer" off its new album Helios. This band sounds even better live than it does on the radio, with powerful vocals and catchy lyrics. It played the majority of its new songs including the hit singles "Love Don't Die" and "Break Your Plans" with fans singing along with every word. The Fray performed all the biggies and most of the new album.
Slade drove the girls and guys crazy when at one point during the set he decided to jump off the stage and start walking right into the crowd. He sang the whole while, as if he hadn't just stopped a million hearts and avoided some grabby hands.
There was one brief moment of, shall we say, awkwardness when Slade welcomed Barcelona's vocalist back on stage to sing about Jesus. Yeah, this really happened. And it felt a little bit like being in a huge church for those brief moments. I mean, we know that an amazing concert can be referred to as a "religious experience" and that a concert hall can be likened to a musician's temple but you can't take that literally. Thankfully, the whole ordeal passed quickly and didn't damper the amped up mood of the crowd that went from screaming, dancing, jumping, and cheering to singing softly and waving their cellphone "lighters" as the show wound down.
You can tell that the Fray is pretty humble and sweet group of guys. The band repeatedly thanked the openers and encouraged everyone to "check them out." It also brought their sound guy and asked the entire crowd to join in serenading him, crooning "Happy Birthday." The Fray also showcased its new bassist who kept up with the rest of them well. All in all, the show felt much like a quick breeze on a summer day. Refreshing and passing much too quickly.
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