Review: ‘Helios’ Tour comes to Portland; rocks the Roseland

Summer concert season is finally here, and Tuesday night, pop rock band “The Fray” returned to Portland as the third stop on their summer “Helios Tour.” They played an impressive show full of vitality to a packed house at the Roseland Theater, along with opening acts “Barcelona” and “Oh, Honey.”

The show was originally scheduled to take place at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, but was changed to the Roseland, which meant that there was a very interesting and diverse crowd in attendance. The most irritating part of the night was the unorganized chaos that resulted from the change of venues: There were fold-up chairs set up for those who had purchased expensive tickets at the Schnitzer, and standing room was set up behind them, but no one could seem to find their seats, and the result was a whole lot of confusion and issues.

With the seating arrangements still not quite figured out, the show began promptly at 8 p.m., starting with “Oh Honey,” who (to their credit) did their very best to get the crowd interested in them, but to no avail. Being the opening act has to be one of the hardest jobs out there for small band musicians, because the audience clearly didn’t care, and the group knew it.

The second act, “Barcelona,” was a different story. They didn’t have to try to get the energy up, because they were so good the crowd instantly responded. The three very attractive Seattle men that are “Barcelona” were a very sweet discovery, as I hadn’t heard of them before then, and I was even compelled to buy their album at the end of the night. I think these guys are going to make it big, and I certainly hope I’m correct, because their talent and smooth, unique piano-rock sound is something the world needs to discover, too. (Seriously, go look them up!)

And, finally, what we all were there for: “The Fray” took the stage. Having seen them in concert many times before, I knew I should have high expectations, and still they exceeded them. They started by playing one of the upbeat singles off their “Helios” album, “Hurricane,” and followed with the older yet still popular “Heartbeat.” They brought so much energy to the stage, particularly lead vocalist Isaac Slade, it felt like a different crowd completely. Before, the audience felt sort of dead because of the people sitting in fold-up chairs (which should really NEVER happen at the Roseland), but things quickly transformed.

Highlights of the night included harmonizing by Slade with backup vocalist/guitarist and original band member Joe King, on the song “Wherever This Goes,” and then an even more impressive acoustic harmony of a beautiful hymn that I’m not sure the title of, but that they made their own.

There was a perfect mix of old and new songs, paying tribute to the singles that got them where they are today, like “Over My Head (Cable Car)” and my personal favorite, “Rainy Zurich.” Mixing old songs with new gave the old stuff a very refreshing feeling, and it’s always exciting seeing your favorite song played in concert, and the audience seemed to be pleased with the impressive set of songs.

The pure, never-disappointing vocals of Slade closed the night with a very memorable note, as the encore performance began with his completely acoustic rendition of “Happiness,” sung with no microphone or amp. After finally getting the crowd to pipe down enough to hear him, he delievered a meaningful and heartfelt performance to the core, displaying all of the emotion in the lyrics that fans of the band love so much.

Overall, the fun, chemistry, and emotion that the band has on stage and the consistently great music they release and perform makes them one of the best bands out there, and a must-see, live in concert. If you missed out this time, don’t worry: They seem to love Portland, returning almost yearly, and I’m sure they will be back very soon.