9Dec07: Lifehouse, Jordin Sparks, Fall Out Boy, Avril Lavigne

[asimplechord]

OK, so I got my ticket to KRBE's JingleJam on Thursday night. I asked if G or K were interested in going, but both already had plans. And MrIris would go if I really didn't want to go by myself, but he's lame - he won't dance, will sit there like a bump - so I figured I'd rather go solo. Then I can enjoy myself without worrying if he's having a good time. Plus, single tickets? WAY BETTER SEATS AVAILABLE. Seriously, I was like, 10 rows back in section 104, which was stage right. I had a good view of pretty much everything.

And when I mentioned the lineup to MrIris, he was all, "I could go and wait with the rest of the parents."

My response? "Fuck off. Go to your football game without me. I'm going to work, and then to see Fall Out Boy."

Anyway, the parents weren't in a separate waiting room, they were right there. Seriously - the other folks in my row? Three sets of parent/kid. And man, was that weird, because the parents just sat there with their 10, 13, and 14 yr old kids and smiled indulgently (except when they realized said kids were singing along "wishing to be the friction in your jeans"; then they looked appalled).

Um, okay, the Toyota Center? I've been there for basketball and hockey, and the last couple of shows I saw there were Justin Timberlake/Pink, Gnarls Barkley/Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Lenny Kravitz/Aerosmith. For all of those shows, the seats up to the upper level were sold. (Seriously, for the RHCP? I think we were in the last row.) So I was surprised that the upper level wasn't open. And even more surprised by how many empty seats there were. And by how unaltered the crowd was: normally you can get a contact high from the crowd at the multi-artist gigs I go to.

Also, Toyota Center management? You LOSE when it comes to merch stands. TWO merch stands for five acts? Lame.

Anyway. I had to work, right? So I ended up missing all of Sean Kingston's set. When I arrived, the end of an interview in the backstage lounge was being broadcast, and I think it was with Pete Wentz. So. I didn't get to hear how he responded to the inane questions that Roula and Ryan no doubt asked. (Seriously, what do you want for xmas? What's the craziest thing that's happened to you? None of those guys have ever heard those questions before.)

Lifehouse? Good show. I think I might have seen them before. Can't really remember. They're pretty inoffensive. And pretty. :)

Jordin Sparks? I had no preconceived notions, because I'd never heard of her before. Shut up, y'all. I don't watch American Idol or listen to KBRE. She's got a nice voice (obviously, since she won AI) and she was casually dressed and looked normal, not too processed and plasticized. I thought that for someone so young, she was pretty comfortable in front of the audience. Liked the xmas song she did, esp. the bluesy guitar solo in the middle of it. I think there were some sound issues with her on "No Air", because her voice seemed small (volume-wise, not in strength) in comparison to the instrumentals mid-way through the song. Otherwise, good. I might buy her CD.

Then. Yes. Fall Out Boy. The only other time I've seen them is at BuzzFest a few years ago. I had lawn seats and I might have been completely wasted, so I heard them but didn't actually see much. So, yes, looked forward to it muchly.

I could have imagined it, but I swear they started Sugar, paused, then started it again. To open their set.

I spent 90% of their time on-stage ogling Andy. And his chest piece and sleeves. He came out in shorts and flip-flops, and his hair was loose (I guess he didn't have to worry about pyrotechnics for this show) and he just pounded the drums. I seriously thought he was going to throw his back out, he flailed so hard. Except during I'm Like A Lawyer..., where he sat there, his hair hanging in his face. Not so much with the percussion for a lot of that song.

Joe Trohman was... Joe. Twisting and jumping and spinning, and probably completely and totally high. He and Andy belong with a band that doesn't have teenagers who are more excited to hear Avril Lavigne lined up in the pit.

Pete - the between-song banter was pretty much like the patter you can hear/see on the MSN Orlando show or any other show. Except his good news/bad news annoucement ("I broke my ankle. But I've a year's supply of Vicodin now.") and his bitching about muggy Houston. (It totally was. I wore a tank and shorts. In fucking December. And was perfectly comfortable walking back to the light rail after sunset, it was so warm and humid.)

I can't even think of the words for Patrick Stump. Except that when he was on my side of the stage during Pete's crowd-touching during Saturday, I just stood still and stared. And there was some Pete/Patrick interaction, and Patrick did his foot-stamping thing. Please, sing to me more, Mr. Stump. Golden, please?

Their set, as I remember it (wrote it down later, so it could be wrong):

Sugar, We're Goin' Down
A Little Less Sixteen Candles (I flailed, because it's my favorite FOB song.)
Thnks fr th mmrs (Weird w/o the brass intro. Just sayin'.)
I'm Like A Lawyer...
The Takeover, The Break's Over
Arms Race (w/ Top Gun theme, of course)
Dance, Dance
Saturday (I think that most of the crowd didn't recognize this song, as it's not from IoH or FUCT; they certainly didn't sing along as they did for the other songs.)

My major point of dissatisfaction was that their set was only 30 minutes long. I texted Tabby: Screw Avril Lavigne, I want more Fall Out Boy!


So. Avril Lavigne.

I'm going to apologize in advance, because some of my thoughts here are related to a conversation I'm having with J about gender and sexuality and success in hard rock vs. pop/punk mainstream music.

I almost left after the FOB set, because I'm not a huge fan of her stuff. Partly it's age-related: I think that in terms of content, a lot of her music is aimed at the teenage crowd, and I can remember but I can't really relate, because the problems I had at 14, 15, or 16 were not the usual problems associated with adolescence. Even though she's in her twenties and married now, she's pretty faithful to her fan-base, I think. But part of it is the tone and manner of her delivery: even songs that could be vaguely feminist (Girlfriend and I Could Do Better) come off perky and smiley instead of angry. I prefer Alanis's defiance, tbh.

But yeah, I felt like I should stay, maybe learn some new appreciation and show support since she's a female rocker. But... she had dancers with the goth equivalent of cheerleading outfits on, you know, little black pleated skirts and Converse. The first song (Girlfriend) was like a modern version of "Hey Mickey". The dancing made me feel like I was watching an aerobics class or video. Then she pulled out the pink guitar, to go with the pink banner and pink streak dyed in her hair. And, okay, maybe that's her favorite color, but NO ROCK BAND NEEDS THAT MUCH PINK. Pink is not the new black. (I have a lurking thought about pink/femininity/not wanting to look too girly vs. capitalizing on it in there somewhere, but seriously, that much pink is unnatural.)

Oh, and while she was off getting a drink or changing her guitar or whatever? The band launched into what sounded like yet ANOTHER rip-off of Kashmir, and when she came back they did... My Happy Ending, I think. Jimmy Page should get royalties, I tell you! AND she covered Blink, which is just NOT ON. Leave that for Angels and Airwaves, Ms. Lavigne, thnxvrymch. (You guys all know how I feel about covers, right? They have to be exceptional for me like them.)

It looks like I'm being negative when I re-read this, and I'm not. She put on a decent show. She sounded fine (except one song where the guitars and drums overpowered her voice, and I don't think that was her; I think it was a sound-mixing problem. Although, having said that, I prefer to listen to a stronger, deeper voice than hears, generally).

So. Yes.

Why isn't February here yet? I'm ready for the Really Really Ridiculously Good Looking Tour now.

Comments

[fleurdeliser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the radio-sponsored show I went to was pretty tame, not very full, and while it wasn't parents and their kids (I'd say the average age of that crowd was 19), I only saw one person that was completely wasted.

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

It was odd - there were entire families, with elementary school kids, teenagers, and parents. Lots of women, not so many men. And I've never seen such a homogenous crowd, ethnically speaking.