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Year in Review
2009. Gone too soon? Perhaps. What isn't going away anytime soon is Switchfoot. One of the most eventful years in Switchfoot's recent history, 2009 saw the arrival of "Hello Hurricane," a triumphant declaration by a band in transition and a record that marked Switchfoot's spirited return to the music industry.
But it's also important to remember that 2009 saw the release of Jon Foreman's side project with Sean Watkins called Fiction Family. Their debut record, also titled "Fiction Family," wowed casual fans and diehards alike by showcasing Foreman's lyrical and musical versatility - it's not often you see a singer of a multi-platinum rock and roll band put down the electric guitar and pluck through some folksy, bluegrass-tinged soul tunes. And yet, here it was.
2009 also saw Switchfoot return to mainstream rock radio with "Mess of Me," which on the very last day of the year, entered the Top 20 of Billboard's Modern Rock/Alternative Songs chart. A harbinger of things to come? A forecast of an even brighter future for the band in 2010? Only time will tell, but before we move forward into 2010 (which I will call "The Year of the Foot," a borrowed reference), here is a retrospective look into what's happened in the past year. And boy, it was a great one!
January
7th:
*Switchfoot first tweets on Twitter
20th:
*Fiction Family releases their debut album “Fiction Family.”
February
*Fiction Family’s record debuts at No. 71 on the Billboard 200, and charts well on several other charts. 1
7th:
*Fiction Family tour ends in West Hollywood.
13th:
*Switchfoot plays a show in Guatemala for the first time.
27th:
*Switchfoot launches new, temporary website. 2
March
5th:
*Switchfoot reports they are “rounding 3rd base” on the new record. 3
30th:
*Switchfoot heads to Los Angeles to begin mixing the new record. 4
April
7th:
*Switchfoot mixes first song, “Hello Hurricane.” 5
23rd:
*Switchfoot announces that they had actually been recording 4 studio albums in their time in the studio. 6
24th:
*Switchfoot releases the album names for their next two studio records: “Hello Hurricane” in 2009. “Vice Verses” in 2010. 7
25th:
*Switchfoot plays Kansas City and participates in The Invisible Children Rescue there. 8
27th:
*It is released on LOBH that Switchfoot plans on releasing an EP of unreleased material, titled “Eastern Hymns for Western Shores.” 9
28th:
*Jon Foreman plays the new Switchfoot song, “Yet” for the first time while at UCSD
May
4th and 5th:
*Switchfoot and Andy Barron go into the desert in Niland County for “Hello Hurricane” photo shoot. 10 11
8th:
*Switchfoot debut the song “Hello Hurricane” over the PA system after a concert in Visalia, California 12
26th:
*Switchfoot announces tour with Blue Ocobter
28th:
*Switchfoot/Blue October “Crazy Making Tour” dates are announced
June
16th:
*Switchfoot announces the official tracklisting for “Hello Hurricane” on their Twitter account 13
18th:
*Switchfoot debuts “Mess of Me” live at the Big Ticket Festival in Michigan. “Hello Hurricane” also makes its live performance debut, with Jon Foreman playing it solo acoustic on his Mandolin. 14 15
21st:
“Bullet Soul” is debuted live in Lancaster, PA at the American Music Theater 16
July
9th:
* “Needle and Haystack Life” is debuted live at Spirit Song in King’s Land, Ohio. 17
13th:
* “Mess of Me” is announced officially as the lead single for “Hello Hurricane.”
16th:
* Switchfoot plays “The Sound” live for the first time in Memphis, Tennessee. 18
26th:
* Switchfoot embarks on the Crazy Making Tour with Blue October, Ours, and Longwave in Council Bluffs, IA
August
7th:
* Switchfoot announces that lowercase people records have decided to partner with Atlantic Records and EMI CMG for the world-wide release of “Hello Hurricane” 19
26th:
* “Mess of Me” debuts on the radio, playing on Atlanta’s 99x Modern Rock/Alternative station. 20
29th:
* The Crazy Making Tour concludes at Hampton Beach, NH.
September
1st:
*Switchfoot commences the “Mess of Me” hunt, a worldwide “scavenger hunt” in which the band and fans hid copies of the single in locations across the globe.
8th:
*Switchfoot unleashes the first music video for “Mess of Me,” a live montage-styled offering set to clips from the Crazy Making Tour
12th:
*First of two shows in which Switchfoot opens for Dave Matthews Band in Chula Vista, CA
13th:
*Second show Switchfoot plays opening for Dave Matthews Band in Irvine, CA
16th:
*Pre-sale for “Hello Hurricane” begins.
23rd:
*Switchfoot announces dates for the Fall 2009 leg of the Hello Hurricane Tour. 21
November
3rd:
*The official "Mess of Me" video releases on Youtube, garnering multiple honors
8th:
*Switchfoot’s “Hello Hurricane” tour begins in El Cajon, CA.
photo credit: RCamWhite
photo credit: Max Roper
photo credit: Andy Barron
10th:
*“Hello Hurricane” releases; the #hellohurricane hashtag reaches the No. 6 slot in Twitter’s Trending Topics
12th:
*Switchfoot performs on Jimmy Kimmel Live
19th:
*“Hello Hurricane” debuts at No. 13 on the Billboard 200, selling 39,000 copies in its first week.
*“Your Love Is a Song” features prominently at the end of an episode of “One Tree Hill.” The song lasts almost six minutes during that segment 23
December
2nd:
*Switchfoot performs on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien
31st:
*"Mess of Me" hits the Top 20 on Billboard's Alternative Songs Chart
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We're Awakening's Hello Hurricane collaborative review with LOBH
The arrival of "Hello Hurricane" was obviously the highlight of 2009. My friend Jeanna from LOBH and I got our copies two weeks in advance, and we were so thrilled that we decided to share our thoughts with you all. Here is the review collab.
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Charts Summary
Albums
“Hello Hurricane”
Billboard 200: 13
Billboard Alternative Albums: 3
Billboard Christian Albums: 2
Billboard Rock Albums: 4
Singles
"Mess of Me"
Billboard Alternative Songs: 20
Billboard Rock Songs: 37
Billboard Christian Songs: 42
"Always"
Billboard Christian Songs: 20
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Switchfoot's 2010 Tour Dates
04/25/09
Kansas City, MS
05/08/09
Visalia, CA Fox Theatre
05/09/09
Santa Clara, CA Great America
06/18/09 Gaylord, MI The Big Ticket Festival
06/19/09
North Lawrence Ohio Clay's Park Resort
06/20/09
Toronto, ON
Phoenix Concert Theatre
06/21/09
Lancaster, PA
American Music Theatre
06/26/09
Del Mar, Ca Del Mar Fairgrounds
06/27/09
San Diego, CA Switchfoot Bro-Am
07/09/09
Kings Island, OH Kings Island: Timberwolf
07/10/09
Doswell, VA
King's Dominion
07/11/09
Kent, WA ShoWare Center (CANCELLED)
07/15/09
Willmar, MN Willmar Civic Center
07/16/09
Memphis, TN Minglewood Hall
07/17/09
Little Rock, AR Riverfest Amphitheater
07/18/09
Baton Rouge, LA Blue Bayou Water Park
07/24/09
Valparaiso, IN Porter County Fair
07/25/09
Des Moines, IA
08/07/09
Midland, TX Rock the Desert
08/12/09
Amarillo, TX John Stiff Memorial Park
Crazy Making Tour (W/ Blue October)
07/26/09
Council Bluffs, IA Stir Cove
07/27/09
Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium
07/28/09
Salt Lake City, UT The Salt Air
07/31/09
Portland, OR The Crystal Ballroom
08/01/09
San Jose, CA San Jose Civic Auditorium
08/05/09
Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern
08/06/09
Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
08/08/09
Phoenix, AZ Marquee Theater
08/09/09
El Paso, TX Abraham Chavez Theater
08/13/09
Charles, LA L’Auberge Casino Lake
08/14/09
Houston, TX Verizon Theater
08/15/09
Dallas, TX House of Blues
08/16/09
Dallas, TX House of Blues
08/20/09
Louisville, KY 4th St. Live
08/21/09
Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
08/22/09
Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues
08/23/09
Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live
08/27/09
Atlantic City, NJ House of Blues
08/28/09
New York, NY Terminal 5
08/29/09
Hampton Beach, NH Hampton Beach Casino
Other Tour Dates
09/04/09
Syracuse, NY New York State Fair
09/05/09
French Town, NJ RevGen Festival
09/10/09
Florida
09/11/09
Orlando, FL Universal Studios
Dave Matthews' Tour
09/12/09
Chula Vista, CA Cricket Wireless w/Dave Matthews Band
09/13/09
Irvine, CA Verizon Wireless w/Dave Matthews Band
Other Tour Dates
09/18/09
Son Fest Mount Vernon, OH Mount Vernon Nazarene University
10/30/09
St. Petersburg, FL Tropicana Field-UFL Game
Hello Hurricane Tour
11.8.09 El Cajon, CA - East County Performing Arts Center
11.11.09 West Hollywood, CA – The Roxy Theatre
11.13.09 Scottsdale, AZ – Martini Ranch
11.14.09 Tucson, AZ – The Rock
11.16.09 Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom
11.17.09 Dallas, TX – House of Blues - Dallas
11.18.09 Austin, TX – The Parish
11.20.09 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
11.21.09 New Orleans, LA – Parish @ House of Blues
11.22.09 Nashville, TN – Exit In
11.23.09 Nashville, TN – Exit In
11.24.09 Atlanta, GA – The Loft @ Center Stage
11.27.09 Anaheim, CA – House of Blues - Anaheim
11.28.09 Ventura, CA – Majestic Ventura Theater
12.03.09 Charlotte, NC - Amos' Southend
12.05.09 Richmond, VA - WDYL Snowball @ The National
12.07.09 Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
12.08.09 New York, NY - The Fillmore Irving Plaza
12.09.09 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
12.19.09 Providence, RI Lupo's (WBRU Presents) [Non-HH Tour date]
12.11.09 Philadelphia, PA TLA (WRFF Presents) [Non-HH Tour date]
12.12.09 Hartford, CT Webster Theatre
12.13.09 Washington, DC 930 Club
12.14.09 Burlington, VT Higher Ground (WBTZ Presents) [Non-HH Tour date]
Other Tour Dates
2009-12-19
San Bernardino, CA X103.9's Very Merry Christmas Party @ Cal State
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So that's just about everything! Thanks for reading... this year saw us complete 2 full years of We're Awakening. And i've enjoyed just about every step of the way. Hope you've all enjoyed reading along as much as I've enjoyed writing. Here's to 2010!
Be sure to check out LOBH's far superior recap of 2009. :)
Thursday, December 31, 2009
2009: The Year of the Hurricane; a Retrospective
Posted by Unknown at 12:43 AM
Labels: Milestones, Reviews
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