You Found Me, The Fray: Colonials Weekend ’13

They were the band you listened to in high school, or at least you remembered them for their hit singles: “How to Save a Life” and “You Found Me”. Maybe you spent your early angst-filled teens listening to “Over My Head (Cable Car)” to remedy your crush. Maybe nostalgia has you still listening to them.

Grammy nominated rock band, The Fray, played both new and familiar songs for the GW community on the Saturday of Colonials Weekend. It was a night of mutual redemption, with lead singer Isaac Slade’s passionate and soothing vocals filling the Smith Center. Songs like “Turn Me On” hyped up the crowd with its strength of longing, reuniting the band and their fans in concert since their last official tour in Fall 2012.

Slade rushed the crowd in the first three songs after jumping off stage, belting the vocals to “Turn Me On.” There was no crowd surfing, but the excitement was palpable as he climbed over rows of chairs to the screaming of fans. “We’re not a loud group of people, I don’t know how I got this job,” Slade joked, once he was back onstage.

“Ungodly Hour,” the only duet featuring guitarist Joe King from their 2009 eponymous album, The Fray, added a soulful touch to the setlist. Although some of King’s vocals were inaudible and almost sounded foreign, they managed capture the hearts of the quietly swaying crowd. With electric blue stage lights centered on him, Slade sang of heroes, drum beats rumbling and clashing heavily on the ground.

Their newly released song, “Love Don’t Die”, encapsulated Slade’s earnesty. It had a fresh rock and roll sound reminiscent of their earlier albums’ songs such as “Here We Are”.  Their performance of “Over My Head (Cable Car)” had a funky intro, a contrast to it’s normally sober feel.

Fans came alive, holding on to the honesty in the songs that had drawn so many people to the band years ago. Ever the crowd-pleaser, the Denver band didn’t forget to play its triple platinum song “How to Save a Life”. Seeing them in concert renewed the faith that maybe love really doesn’t die.

–Leah Edwards