OneRepublic and the Scripts Concert

BEST CONCERT EVER! 
(other than Josh Groban's, of course!) :)

I went to the OneRepublic and The Scripts with American Authors concert on Wednesday night...and boy howdy, it was awesome. The music was great, they were all wonderful performers and it was highly entertaining. 

I was running late...in part because it took me longer to get out of the house than I anticipated and because I somehow missed an exit and suddenly found myself passing Pacific, Dodge and almost to Maple, which is where I finally decided to get off the highway. Anyway, long story short, I ended up running like a crazy person in ridiculous (but also amazing) 4" heels into the Qwest Center, making it to my seat in time to hear "Best Day of My Life" by the American Authors. They finished up around 7:30pm (yeah, I was that late) and then there was a break for about 20-ish minutes before The Script appeared.

In case you are unfamiliar with them, The Script are an Irish rock band from Dublin (based in London) that formed in 2001 and released their first CD in 2008. Their lead singer is Danny O'Donoghue...doesn't get more Irish than that! :)

This was the first time they performed "Superheroes" live - a song from their new album (releasing next month)...and I think the first time they've performed in Omaha. They sang a lot of my favorites - Breakeven, Hall Of Fame, Man Who Can't Be Moved...and they did something special for "Nothing." :) 

"Payback is a bitch." 

Danny said they were trying this new form of revenge and asked if anyone had an ex they would like them to call...the first person to hand them a ringing phone "won." He then proceeded to tell this person (Jimmy) that their ex asked him to call and sang him "Nothing." The guy hung up on him a couple times, but Danny kept calling him back. It was epic. 

"Jimmy? This is Danny from the Script. Your ex asked me to call you..."

♫ "Jimmy heard nothing...nothiiiing." ♫

It's amazing how personally gratifying another woman's revenge can be! :)

One of the other fun things about The Scripts' performance was that they still seemed surprised and to really enjoy their popularity, in a "wow...you guys all like us!" kind of way. They were big crowd pleasers and enjoyed everyone's excitement. Danny ended up doing three laps around the floor, and came up and down through the 100s section right past me. I was in seat #5 and didn't want to jump over a dad and his two teenage daughters to high-five him. I was fine settling for a picture. :)

They also had lovely Irish accents, so I didn't mind when they stopped singing and just talked for a bit. It was very nice...I could have sat and just listened to them talk for days. :)

During the intermission between The Script and OneRepublic I ran out to the vending table to buy a t-shirt. I rarely buy merchandise at concerts...unless there happens to be an unexpected torrential downpour and I "need" dry clothes...but I decided this was definitely a night worth remember and warranted a bit of a splurge. :)  

On to OneRepublic. 

Big fan of their cellist!

I was a little worried they would be a let down after how much I enjoyed The Script, but thankfully they was not so. I liked The Script better, but OneRepublic were definitely good performers and did a fantastic job.

Continuing the high energy theme of the night, OneRepublic did a great job of balancing songs from their new "Native" album with old favorites. The opening song, Secrets, is one of my personal favorites...and is a ringtones on my phone. Counting Stars is one of my new favorites and was fun to hear live. Good life and Stop and Stare were also excellent. It was also neat to hear the story behind "Preacher," a song from their new album that the lead singer, Ryan Tanner, wrote for his grandfather. 

One of my absolute favorite OneRepublic songs is "Apologize." It's an amazing song and one that particularly moves me. Tanner performed it (mostly) solo, playing a low key, acoustic version on the piano (as seen to the right). A little cello came in near the end. The color of the piano changed with the lyrics "I loved you with a fire red, now it's turnin' blue" from (you guessed it), red to blue. Pretty nifty. 

I snagged a 30 clip of Apologize, since it's one of my favorites. It's all post "turning blue," so naturally everything has that nice, blue hue. You can kind of hear the cello, if you listen reeeally closely. 

While they lacked some of the "newbie" vibe that The Script emanated, they made up for it in being seasoned performers. They did a very good job playing to their audience...using footage from downtown Omaha and the Old Market as a back drop for a couple of their songs. They also changed up the set at least three times during the performance, moving the piano and drums around the stage. 

They also really like their bright and shooting lights. The first number they used different guitars that had a very reflective surface, bouncing the footlights off of them and into the crowd, looking like personal spotlights. Tanner did it again near the end of the show (see above). It looked really cool from afar, but would have been blinding up close! 

Ooh...and the guy sitting behind me sounded exactly like Jay Baruchel. It was funny for about ten minutes and then it got really annoying. Mostly because the guy attached to the voice (who didn't look at all like Jay Baruchel) was a real self-centered jerk, so there's that. 

If you ever have a chance to see either of them live, I would highly recommend it. The Scripts and OneRepublic are both great performers and worth going to see!

Enjoy and happy Friday! 


~ Katie