The Script Light Up Myth Live

It’s a cold, rainy Sunday night in Northeast Minneapolis when my girlfriend and I get in our car and head out to Maplewood. Sundays are never the ideal days for concerts, after all, even the lord rests on Sunday, but nevertheless, we persist. I usually ride solo to cover concerts but I’m glad to have the backup for this one, as before today I thought The Script’s biggest hit was actually performed by someone else.

As always, when we arrive at Myth Live the parking lot (someday…. someday I will arrive early enough to use you!) is completely full so we take a spot in the overflow parking at the mall and start walking. Unlike my experience with outrageously long lines at the Stone Sour/Steel Panther show, we were able to stroll right up to the box office and get our tickets.

We arrived just about 15 minutes into opener Tom Walker’s set, and find a spot on the side of the room to watch. Unfortunately, we arrived too late for me to grab any decent shots of his performance, but I will say that for me, at least, the Scottish singer-songwriter’s performance was the highlight of the night. The way the relatively-new performer held total command of the room, leaving listeners hanging on every word, was a pleasure to watch.

After Walker promptly leaves the stage at 9:00 pm, there is about a half-hour long changeover for The Script (which seemed like 10 minutes of people actually working and about 20 minutes of guys standing around). During this time, my girlfriend and I are able to move closer to the stage, with me then taking my spot near the pit to grab some pictures of the performance.

If there is one thing I can say about this show is it was the most precisely scheduled show I have probably ever been too. The Script swiftly walked out onto the stage at 9:30 pm, much to the crowd’s delight.

The Script quickly launches into Rock The World off their newest album Freedom Child, and the crowd (well at least the front row!) is screaming every word right back into my ears. This trend continued through the next two songs, Superheroes and “deep cut” Paint The Town Green, after which I retreated back to my original location to enjoy the rest of the show.

If we are being honest, the rest of the show is sort of one big pop-rock blur for me. While there is no doubt The Script has a huge fanbase of, how should I say, easily impressed fans, after about five songs that sound shockingly similar to one another, someone like me starts to lose interest. It was clear to me that the setlist was very rehearsed (check out the setlists from their previous shows, you might see some similarities….) and the “crowd interactions” were much of the same. They like to play it safe, and to a degree, I can respect that, but it isn’t my first choice when seeking out bands to see live.

All in all, if you were previously a fan of The Script, you probably had a great time. I’m not sure I’d recommend them to anyone on the fence about it, but as told by the completely closed off balcony, I assume it isn’t hard to get tickets when they do come to town.