Snow Patrol

Oscar Wilde said all bad poetry is sincere. But sometimes when sincerity is coupled with obvious talent and refreshing earnestness, much can be forgiven. The D Man and his lovely wife went to the Snow Patrol concert on Saturday night at the McKay Events Center and reveled in the warmth, humor, and genuineness of Gary Lightbody and his bandmates. The band's performance was good and left The D Man and his wife feeling good. Sometimes you just need a few heart-on-your-sleeve anthems to dust off the cynicism and start loving anew. The highlights included the following:

• Lightbody can flat-out sing. His voice never strains and possesses a strong crystalline resonance that makes everything he sings pleasing to the ears. Lightbody may have the best voice out of any of his so-called Brit-pop peers, including the frontmen for Coldplay, Elbow, and Keane.
• Lightbody bantered with the crowd the entire night and may be the most affable frontman The D Man has ever seen in concert. He joked with the crowd about the band's failed attempts to play tennis that afternoon at UVU, poked fun at the school's designation as "BYU West," and marveled at Utah's beauty. Lightbody said it was the biggest sky he'd ever seen and our home was "flipping beautiful," emphasizing his curse-word restraint much to the crowd's appreciation. Not bad for an Irishman.
• The band opened with "If There's A Rocket Tie Me To It," the first track from the recent album A Hundred Million Suns.
• "Chocolate" made Mrs. D Man bounce in delight. She claims it is the best running song of all time.
• "Hands Open" name-dropped Sufjan Stevens and "How To Be Dead" reminded The D Man why the band's 2003 album Final Straw is one of the best Brit-pop records of the last ten years.
• With the rhythm section prominently on display, new song "The Golden Floor" was more striking than the album version. Snow Patrol is extremely polished and its accessible sheen was apparent on every number they played. Case in point: the band played a smooth, melodic, albeit huge version of "Run," with Lightbody singing and playing solo for the song's first half and then the band joining him for a massive finish.
• Lightbody divided the crowd into groups and had us singing in round for a groove-laden version of "Shut Your Eyes."
• Hearts were melted with back-to-back versions of "Chasing Cars" and "Crack the Shutters." The D Man knows he's in for a good week on the homefront. (28 million happy ladies can't be wrong, right?)
• The band got all synthy on new single "Just Say Yes." The D Man was digging it, his weaknesses exposed and exploited. "Open Your Eyes" left the venue ringing as the band exited the stage.
• The encore consisted of the closing three-song suite from A Hundred Million Suns titled "The Lightning Strike." A large-screen multimedia presentation accompanied the music, complete with mesmerizing origami animation of suns, planets, and our tiny place among it all. "Daybreak" sounded downright hypnotic.
• Snow Patrol closed the night with "All I Have." You can't convince The D Man that this song won't have you singing in your car. Quit being such a man and let it out.