Snow Patrol leads a screaming show at Saltair

Pulling from their two most recent albums, Snow Patrol spread the message of love during their nearly two-hour show. The Irish band kept the audience dancing with their rock-infused anthems laced with lyrics detailing failed romance after failed romance.

"You love me? You don't even know me. Could you put up with my crap?" asked lead singer Gary Lightbody in response to the shout that someone in the audience loved him. "I would make a crap boyfriend. Haven't you heard the lyrics to these songs?"

That didn't keep many from swooning as they sang along to "The Finish Line" and "You're All I Have."

While Snow Patrol's two most-recent albums, Eyes Open and Final Straw, have a mellow sound, often incorporating violins and other strings, the band's stage show pumped with quick, upbeat guitars, provided by Nathan Connolly and Paul Wilson and sharp snare drum beats from Jonny Quinn. However, they never lost the symphonic atmosphere that fills Eyes Open, thanks to keyboard and samples from Tom Simpson.

OK Go, sans their mythic treadmills, welcomed the band to the stage with nearly an hour of screaming guitars and vocals, a bit of an odd match for a crowd of 20- to 35-year-olds prepared to hear the ballads of Snow Patrol.

However, the energy never waned, even as Snow Patrol played some of the deeper tracks from Final Straw, which sold 2 million copies in the United Kingdom, but only "Chocolate" found mainstream play in the States.

However, the crowd sang along with songs from 2006's Eyes Open as if they had owned the album for decades. The reaction was unsurprising as the band's songs have appeared on TV shows ranging from Six Feet Under to Grey's Anatomy to most recently the season premier of The Black Donnellys.

Drowned in green, blue and red stage lights, Lightbody's clear, melancholy voice filled the rafters at Saltair. The band's one truly uplifting love song, "Chasing Cars," had couples cuddling close.

"This was a hugely positive thing in my life, and I hope it shares the message of love with you all," Lightbody said as he introduced the omnipresent radio tune.

He shared that love, bringing a female audience member on stage to fill in for artist Martha Wainwright for "Set Fire to the Third Bar." As Lightbody closed the show with "Hands Open."

"I don't know what you've taken from this show," he said with his arms held wide above his head, embracing the audience. "But I hope it's a message of love."

smcfarland@sltrib.com

Who: Snow Patrol

With: Silversun Pickups and OK Go

Where: Saltair, I-80 West in Magna

When: Monday

Bottom Line: Depressing lyrics, upbeat music and self-deprecating humor led to a screaming, jumping sold-out crowd at Saltair.