REVIEW : One Tree Hill Tour

The Wreckers, Tyler Hilton rock the Venue.

Venue of Scottsdale
Scottsdale, Arizona 3/12/05

The line to enter the Venue of Scottsdale wrapped around the block as hundreds of fans waited to be let in to see the Arizona stop on the One Tree Hill Tour. Playing this show were Bethany Joy Lenz, Tyler Hilton and The Wreckers (Michelle Branch & Jessica Harp). Having been a long time fan of Michelle Branch (related: EXCLUSIVE : MICHELLE BRANCH | EXCLUSIVE VIDEO) and One Tree Hill, I knew this was one concert I had to cover. Shortly after we arrived, we were greeted by Bethany Joy Lenz (Lenz plays “Hayley James Scott”, on the hit show) who played several songs, all of which left us impressed. Tyler Hilton took the stage shortly after, and really got the crowd going with several songs from his album, as well as his current single, “When It Comes”. He often joked with the crowd, and was genuinely pleased with the warm welcome he received. Towards the end of his set, he welcomed Bethany Joy Lenz back to the stage to sing the duet that is the source of much controversy on the show, “When the Stars Go Blue”. The rendition was beautiful and the crowd showed their appreciation in shouts and cheers. As this was my first time seeing Tyler Hilton in concert, I was impressed with his energy and connection with the crowd.

Tyler's set lasted a little under an hour, and then we all underwent the long 45 minute transition from Tyler Hilton's stage to The Wreckers. When they finally made an appearance on stage, they were greeted warmly by the crowd. They kicked off their portion of the show by playing a song from their forthcoming album titled “Rain”, and soon went into their current single, “The Good Kind”. They then sang unreleased songs from their upcoming album, and added in old favorites from Michelle's earlier releases including “The Game of Love”, “All You Wanted” and “Are You Happy Now?”. Jessica Harp took the stage solo for one of my favorite songs of hers, Memphis, mentioning; “I feel like the new kid on the block” referring to being in Michelle's home state of Arizona. Her vocals were simply nothing short of impressive. The set lasted just a touch longer than an hour, complete with encore. All in all, the music was fantastic, and the vocals from all performers were wonderful.

The One Tree Hill Tour continues until March 31st 2005, tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com. Keep an eye out for The Wreckers debut record, "Stand Still, Look Pretty" which is scheduled to hit stores in June.

Tyler Hilton, Jessica Harp

Tyler Hilton & Bethany Joy Lenz

The Wreckers

photos by West48 Magazine | Nick Coons of AZPaths