By Stephanie Sonntag
Collective Soul warmed up for their tour with a benefit concert for the tsunami victims in the Forum at The Canyons Ski Resort in Park City Wednesday night.
The Forum?s small amphitheater was packed with about 5,000 fans when the concert kicked off with fireworks 7 p.m.
The youthful crowd fueled the show with a continuous stream of crowd surfers, and fans singing along with the band. Lead singer Ed Roland catered to the fans and periodically thrust his microphone to the audience.
?That was the best thing that I have ever done in my life. I have never appreciated my height so much? said 6?6? Robert Kinghorn, a freshman from Centerville Utah. ?I would trade my earlobes to hear it again.?
The five member rock band introduced several new songs from the new album ?Youth? which Roland claims is the best work they have ever done. They played a career-spanning set of songs including: ?Satellite,? ?Counting the Days,? ?The World I Know? and ?Run.? Though there was no entrance fee, donations were accepted in a brimming donation box near the entrance to the amphitheater.
?Our hope is that people have a good time and donate to the tsunami victims,? Program Events Manager Dave March said.
The annual Vertical Vibe event was scheduled to be a free concert, but after the tsunami, Vertical Vibe teamed up with Oxfam?s Asia Earthquake fund. Fans could still attend the concert for free, but they were encouraged to donate. All of the proceeds from the concert will go to the tsunami fund. More fans than predicted ? about 60 to 70 percent ? donated to the fund, March said.
The below freezing weather and light snowfall did not stop the band from playing a lively concert.
?Outdoor concerts are wicked, they?re not hot and you get a taste of the elements,? said Cami Godfrey a freshman majoring in audiology from Dallas.
Godfrey said she has been a fan since her brother got her hooked when she was eight.
Collective Soul sported t-shirts and jeans while the audience bundled up in coats, hats, gloves, scarves and boots.
The band just started their concert tour and is coming back to Salt Lake City in the summer. The band promised the fans that the next album won?t take three years to make like the album ?Youth? did.
Next year look for concerts in Park City because The Canyons hopes to continue the annual tradition, March said.