Michael Franti Video From Last Night: Because you were probably there

Well, that was crazy.

Last night several thousand (maybe 5 or 6?) Bendites let loose, to put it conservatively, at the Michael Franti and Spearhead show at the Les Schwab Amphitheater. It was the first time I saw everyone in the venue up on their feet, with almost 100 percent dance participation.

The show was full of the standard “How ya feelin’?!” call outs from Franti and obligatory hand-waving, and it seemed like everyone from one side of Bend’s cultural spectrum was in attendance. In a word, it was impressive. But no moment of the show was more impressive than when Franti invited all the kids in attendance to get onstage to sing and dance for his big hit “Say Hey (I Love You).” Suddenly, mothers and fathers were rampaging toward the stage, children in hand, as if they weren’t trying to get their kids on stage, but rather onto the last boat off of that Jurassic Park island.

With all the kids on stage, Franti charged through the song, letting a young girl sing the last line. Pretty cool stuff. We should really do this again. And soon.

Here’s some video of Franti down in the crowd during “Yell Fire.”