Flashing lights and smoke engulfed the arena at the State Farm Center on Saturday. A set of cyan neon wings glowed brightly from the background of the stage set; the only sounds to be heard were the steady booming of the speakers and the cheering of the crowds as they welcomed The Script onto the stage.

After not playing any live shows for two years, the Irish band is back on the road for their “Freedom Child Tour.”

From classic hits to brand new ones, The Script’s set list consisted of meaningful and emotional songs including “Arms Open,” “Rock the World,” “No one is an Island,” “Breakeven,” “For the First Time,”  “If You Could See Me Now” and “Hall of Fame.”

Opening for the band was singer Ivory Lane, who performed several of her new songs. Among them were “What’s a Girl Gotta Do,” “God Save the Queens,” “Boys Cry,” “Something’s Gonna Happen” and “Superman.” Before her performance of “Shake My Head,” Lane spoke about The Script.

“You’re in for a great show with some great people,” Lane said. “These guys are some of the kindest people I have ever met.”

After opening with “Rock the World,” “Superheroes” and several other blends of classic and new hits, the Script performed “Arms Open,” a song off of their new album, “Freedom Child.”

Script member, Mark Sheehan, discussed the song and reflected on the making of their latest record,

“While making this record, we realized that the world really needs a f****** hook,” Sheehan said. “We as a band preach tolerance, we value opinions, we value stories. The best way to listen to someone is to shut the f*** up and listen, and so we realized that we need a song that really listens to people. And we found that song in ‘Arms Open.’”

“Arms Open” was quickly followed by another classic hit, “Nothing,” from their 2010 album titled “Science and Faith.”

Their new song, “No Man is an Island,” deals with themes of encouragement and empowerment. Two more classic songs hit the stage afterward, “For the First Time,” “off Science and Faith” and “If You Could See Me Now,” off of their 2012 album, “#3.”

The latter song also tied in with themes of empowerment and confidence.

“We love to play intimate shows, we’re a tactile band and like to see the whites of people’s eyes, we love to be up close and personal,” Sheehan said during a Q&A held before the concert. “We love doing big shows, but the intimate ones have something extra.”

Front-man, Danny O’Donoghue, sang “Energy Never Dies” while moving through and interacting with the audience, giving high fives and taking pictures with fans. This was quickly followed by a performance of the band’s 2008 hit “Breakeven.”

After a brief intermission, The Script kicked off the last part of the show with “No Good in Goodbye” and “Rain.”

The final performance of the night was preceded by a brief speech given by O’Donoghue. He, much like Sheehan had done earlier in the show, talked about the meaning behind their latest album and what it meant to them as a band.

“It’s about freedom. The freedom to feel. The freedom to speak. The freedom to love,” O’Donohue said. “This record was titled ‘Freedom Child’ because that’s what we want to convey to our fans. We are in the business of making moments, and I believe that I am witnessing a moment right now.”

He then asked the audience to help him make a moment with the last song of the evening by recording the performance and the crowd in an attempt to capture the energy that had filled the arena.

“This song has an incredibly important message in it, and I need you guys to share it with everyone who cannot be here to witness this themselves,” O’Donoghue said.

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