Aug 19

Aug 19 Show Review: OneRepublic Thrill Bay Area on 'Never Ending Summer' Tour in Mountain View

OneRepublic
w/ Needtobreathe, Amy Allen
Shoreline Amphitheatre
Mountain View, CA
August 17th, 2022

Photos and Review by Jared Stossel

I keep wanting to use the phrase “underappreciated” when it comes to OneRepublic. It wasn’t really until Wednesday night when I realized how influential OneRepublic, and frontman Ryan Tedder, have been to the landscape of pop music. OneRepublic have indeed been a band churning out hit songs for well over a decade, from “Apologize” to “Counting Stars” to “If I Lose Myself”. Outside of the band, Tedder has been a co-writer for other artists for nearly two decades. I guarantee that you know every song he’s written, even if you think you haven’t. His songwriting structure and melodies have reached every corner of the industry, ranging from rock, pop, country, hip-hop, soul, R&B, and beyond. The influence was evident as OneRepublic played their way through an impressive show on Wednesday evening at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA. Ranging from full band originals to an expansive medley of covers, OneRepublic put on one of the year’s best pop shows.

This entry of the band’s “Never Ending Summer” tour featured two openers, the first being singer-songwriter Amy Allen. Much like Tedder, Allen has built up an impressive catalogue of songs that she’s written in collaboration with artists over the years like Selena Gomez, Harry Styles, King Princess, PVRIS, Halsey, and many more. Armed with an acoustic guitar, her voice, and a backing band comprised of a drummer and additional guitarist, Allen played her way through a variety of catchy songs as the sun set and the summer breeze swept gently throughout the amphitheater.

The main opener for this tour was NEEDTOBREATHE, an act I haven’t seen since they toured with Switchfoot back in 2015. With an elaborate stage setup surrounding them, the five-piece act took the stage for a truly dynamic rock show. NEEDTOBREATHE are a band that fit in with both the general alternative rock world, while also positioned as one of the biggest Christian rock acts in the country, although they don’t label themselves as a strictly “Christian rock” act. The band perform like they’re headliners, and they know how to captivate an entire amphitheater of attendees, whether they know all the words or are catching them for the first time. Bear Rinehart is a powerful frontman, surrounded by band members who can play the hell out of any instrument thrown their way. Their set really took things up a notch, paving the way for OneRepublic’s headlining set.

From 9:15 PM onward, the world was at the hands of Ryan Tedder and Co. Every single song that OneRepublic performed throughout that night was enthralling, whether it was an original or a “cover”. I was entranced by the song “Secrets” when it first came out, and there is nothing quite like hearing the bow move across the strings of the cello as that opening melody kicks in, thousands of people cheering as they recognize the notes. I was highly impressed by the fact that everything was using real instruments; pop can often get a bad reputation for relying on backing tracks and digital instrumentals, but everything was alive in this show.

About halfway through the show, Tedder set up the trajectory of the evening by explaining what the band were about to do. For about twenty minutes, this is what I like to call the “humble brag” portion of the show (and deservedly so). Tedder sat down at a piano, walked the crowd through story after story, and played through verse and chorus of several songs that he’s had his fingerprints all over throughout the last two decades. The crowd went crazy when these moments kicked in, as they included a full version of “Halo” (Beyonce), “Bleeding Love” (Leona Lewis), “Rumour Has It” (Adele) and “Love Somebody” (Maroon 5). This segment closed with a full-length performance of Jonas Brothers’ “Sucker” (yep, he co-wrote that one too). It was a great moment and it shed a light on the idea of what a good songwriter can do to help an artist bring their material to life.

After the band played through “West Coast” and “Feel Again”, none other than Tom Cruise appeared on the screen to provide a video introduction of “I Ain’t Worried”, the soundtrack to the beach football scene in this summer’s box office titan Top Gun: Maverick. To close out the evening, OneRepublic brought out four of their biggest hits, back-to-back: “Apologize”, “I Lived”, “Counting Stars”, and “If I Lose Myself”, a perfect conclusion to an already stellar evening. In a truly serendipitous moment, OneRepublic left the stage before coming out to play “Counting Stars”. With the stage darkened, fans started to put up their cell phone lights, all of Shoreline Amphitheatre looking like a galaxy situated somewhere in the night sky. The band returns as the song’s intro vocal line kicks in. A truly spectacular moment. If you haven’t seen OneRepublic before, if you’re a fan of pop music, or even if you just want to get a masterclass at how good songs are written, catch them on tour this summer. This is one of pop music’s very finest acts, hard at work.

OneRepublic Set List
Kids
Good Life
Stop and Stare
Rescue Me
Secrets
Wherever I Go
Love Runs Out
Halo (Beyonce cover)
Cover Medley (Bleeding Love (Leona Lewis), Burn (Ellie Goulding), Rumour Has It (Adele), Maps (Maroon 5), Love Somebody (Maroon 5), That’s What I What I Want (Lil Nas X))
Sucker (Jonas Brothers cover)
West Coast
Feel Again
I Ain’t Worried
Apologize
I Lived
Counting Stars
If I Lose Myself