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In just a matter of weeks, one of the most quintessential albums of the 2000s decade ‘How To Save A Life’ will be turning 20. The Fray may be best known for turning out a juggernaut in its title track, but the casual music fan may forget how many anthems this band has whipped out in their career. It is truly something to be studied, and in celebration of this wonderful album, the band has been on a lengthy North American tour commemorating its legacy. While their longtime vocalist Isaac Slade departed in 2022, their original backup vocalist and rhythm guitarist Joe King has filled in the center role of lead vocalist. His stage presence and talent effortlessly could make someone less familiar assume that he was the main guy the entire time.
Closing out a two night run at Los Angeles’s iconic Wiltern Theater, the sold out crowd of 2200 sang their hearts out to each and every word of this band's set. With hits like ‘How To Save A Life’, ‘Over My Head (Cable Car)’, and ‘Look After You’, the band's set contained the entire album from beginning to end, as well as other hits in their discography like ‘You Found Me’, and ‘Never Say Never’. The song ‘Look After You’ contained a guest performance from opener Landon Barker, who breathed new life into this song earlier this year. After going viral over a compilation of videos this year of him lip syncing the track, Barker joining the band onstage for that song definitely created a feel good moment early on in the set. Whether or not, this was the sole thing that landed him a spot as a support on the tour, it was perhaps for some, the standout moment of the night.
Upon introducing the track ‘Over My Head (Cable Car)’, Joe went around the stage listing off all of the former jobs they had while preparing for this song's release in 2005, citing himself working at an auto repair shop. There’s always something exciting and inspiring hearing those stories with the realization of never knowing when and how close one is from big things reaching them in the future. This song definitely launched them into mainstream success early on, and they certainly stayed there all the way up to now. It was indeed a powerful 90 minute set that the band delivered.
Prior to that was fellow pop rockers in ‘The Strike’. Hailing from Los Angeles, the band has been on a roll busting out single after single as of late, and brought the dance vibes for a stellar 45 minute set. Vocalist Chris Crabb belted out some of their massive singles off their 2022 album ‘The Lost Years’, including ‘Nothing New’, ‘Miles Ahead’, and ‘Devil In The Canyon’. They just recently collaborated with rising Nashville country star Mitchell Tenpenny for the song ‘The Getaway’ which they busted out in the set as well. Fans of The Fray were definitely introduced that night to a new band to root for in the coming years.
Opening the show was none other than Tik Tok star Landon Barker. Despite being from the Gen Z pop punk world that he dominates in, there is no denying a crossover appeal that that can have when you look at the catchy anthems that a band like The Fray carries night in and night out. With songs like ‘Friends With Your Ex’, ‘Over You’, an MGMT cover of ‘Kids’, and a Surf Curse cover of ‘Freak’, he was sure to have won over fans that got there early that night. The night prior, he even brought out his father, the legendary Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker to jam on a song. Having just played the returning Vans Warped Tour, and seeing fellow musicians in the crowd like Mod Sun and Machine Gun Kelly vibing out to his set, the badges of acceptance Barker continues to receive is to be recognized.
You couldn’t have asked for a more positive and genuine night in LA, filled with nostalgia, good vibes, and chart topping anthems. It’s always a fun time to sing your hearts out to songs that many people have a variety of stories to tell regarding where they were in life when those songs came out, and there is no denying the time travel ability that many songs in The Fray’s catalog have. It was indeed a great night worth remembering.
