Venue: See previous
The show:
Generally: I hate arena
shows, but being on the floor makes it a lot better. It feels a lot like
somewhere like the Aragon–– Flat, crowed, but still spacious enough that those
of us that want to can hang toward the back of the crowd don’t feel crushed. A
word to the wise on arena shows: If you are deep in the crowd, you will get
crushed and it will be a stronger crush than you’d experience anywhere else. It
is the Nature of Arenas. I on the whole loved the show; it had a solid line up
with fast enough pacing to be comfortable but not so fast that there wasn’t
time for bathroom breaks!
Onward.
I missed group love, so
no review there.
Alt-J (2.5/6): Hailing
from Liverpool, Alt. J is an indi-rock group with a distinctive sound that
stands out in a sea of generic indi rock. I’m not a big fan of their sound ––It’s
not my style. However, they do what they do deliberately and with a keen sense
of precision. Seemingly intentionally slurred and without particular regard for
tonality, the vocals are simultaneously sleep inducing and grating. There was
also an odd clicking sound that they brought into play in one of the songs,
which pushed their overall sound into something jarring. That being said, the
synth work is absolutely wonderful and their sense of composition is
surprisingly precise.
It did not work for me, however, I believe
that it would for someone who could stomach that sound.
Foals (3/6) The Foals
had a little bit of an an 80s sound, but on the whole not horrible, I found
they were really not attention grabbing and had a little of the old school shoe
gaze sound in some of their songs. I also noticed that their guitar was slightly
out of tune, which is just sloppy. It distracted me quite a bit. That being
said, I did really enjoy some of their numbers.
Queens of the Stone Age
(4/6-- Probably would have been higher if I knew their stuff) Really fun show.
It seemed as though they were there particularly to have fun and give the
audience a good time. NO holds bared lyrics, without that hard edged in your
face sound. Queens of the Stone Age were
a little retro and bouncy. The guitar work was no frills, but very articulate
and it impressed. Or rather it seems impressive until their drummer cut loose.
The drum work is nigh unparalleled in its sheer craziness that some how manages
to maintain it’s precision. My hat is off to their drummer.
The place they lose
points is the lack of interaction with the audience. He was mostly blandly
making comments about the beach balls that q87.7 tossed into the audience, if
he said anything about the crowd. I really enjoyed the overall sound of Queens
of the Stone Age and will be looking into getting a hold of more of their
stuff. They seem to mesh really well as a band and keep a laid back, yet still
rock and roll atmosphere.
Thirty seconds To Mars
(4/6) I was worried going into this show, as last tour it felt like lead singer
Jared Leto was straining his voice significantly. And his voice has changed,
however, he compensated very well by dropping a lot of the songs into a lower
key. , I really think the band is trying to find itself again and the rockiness
does show on the album Or at least that’s what the music feels like. All three
of the members of Thirty Seconds To Mars have an incredible amount of passion
and talent. It is very clear that they have a passion for what they do.
However, Leto is definitively the force behind the band. Attention grabbing in
both his looks and presence Leto brings a still strong voice a powerhouse of
charisma and poise with a hint of well-deserved arrogance.
The amount of audience
participation he encouraged was an absolute delight. The amount of conscious
effort he’s put into being gracious, especially toward his fans is very clear. When
I first saw him, he had a lot of the aloofness that he is criticized for and
part of that will always be there, however, touring he’s picked up a degree of
sincere, grace that I do hope sticks around. It very much becomes him.
While he a presence all
unto himself, Leto is not the only talented member of the band. Younger Brother
Shannon Leto keeps a thunderous, vibrant pulse on the drums and the guitar work
from Tomo Miličević gave the music a brilliant edge.
The overall sound was
very investing from a critical standpoint. I had a lot of curiosity going into
this show, as their newest album is chaotic and not very cohesive. While the
sense that the band itself is coming out of a rugged period and trying to find
itself again, they are as cohesive as ever. It was actually difficult to pick
out from the sound which instrument was which. The show was also a lot more
produced than their previous works and I’m not sure how I feel about that.
On the whole, it was a wonderful show and I
am anxious for their next evolution.
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