Tag: review

Concert Review >> American Idols Live! in San Jose, CA 07.13.2011

This week the American Idols Live! tour rolled through San Jose, CA to the delight of the masses who showed up to see one particular Santa Cruz native by the name of James Durbin. Just the mere mention of his name at the top of the show by season 10 runner-up, Lauren Alaina, resulted in an eruption of cheers from the crowd.

And I must say that Durbin didn’t disappoint. He appeared in a couple group numbers during the first half of the show, but it was his entrance for his two-song set that had the audience at the HP Pavilion on its feet.

Entering from the back of the building wearing a San Jose Sharks jersey, singing Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’Mine,” Durbin shook hands as he made his way up to the stage. Towards the end of the song he held his microphone out to the audience and, without any real prodding, they sang the chorus back to him. I have to hand it to Durbin. He’s charismatic, has great stage presence, and absolutely relished every moment of his solo performance, wherein he took the time to thank the fans for voting for him and for the overall support he received from the Bay Area.

But Durbin wasn’t the only Idol who amped up the crowd. Paul McDonald got the people on their feet in the first half of the show during his lively performance of Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May.” Naima Adedapo’s rousing rendition of Jennifer Lopez’s current hit, “On The Floor,” complete with an African dance break, was one of the most well-received performances of the night.

Continue reading Concert Review >> American Idols Live! in San Jose, CA 07.13.2011

Concert Review >> Funeral Party Kick off Panic! At the Warfield in S.F.

Last week, Funeral Party played the Warfield in San Francisco as a part of Panic! at the Disco’s ongoing tour. The LA-based band played six songs off their debut album, The Golden Age of Knowhere, which was released earlier this year.

Funeral Party kicked off their set in front of a sea of people with the title track from their album. The audience seemed to respond excitedly to the energetic band, led by lead vocalist, Chad Elliott.

Elliott comes off as a passionate, yet seemingly full of angst type front man. He did a great job pumping up the restless (and for those in the pit, swaying) San Francisco audience by telling them that they “looked more badass” than their hometown crowd from the previous night’s show in L.A., which provoked a loud round of cheering from the room.

The band performed a nice cross section of songs from their album, including “Car Wars” and “New York Moves to the Sound of L.A.,” but it was their lead single, “Finale” that got the collective audience moving and clapping along the moment the song started.

Looking back on the night of music as a whole, I found that this tour seemed to be a really good fit and great exposure for a band that’s just released their first album, such as Funeral Party. This was my first experience at a Panic! At the Disco show, but from what I could tell, they seem to appeal to a wide range of music listeners. There were guys and girls from high school ages on up through college, including a handful of adults that could be seen rocking out on the floor the whole night.

Also, performing alongside a band like Panic! At the Disco allows Funeral Party to take cues on what works when performing for a large audience. For instance, I think engaging with the crowd is really important and has a hand in holding their attention for the remainder of a band’s set. I think if the band figures out what songs they can get the audience more involved in that they’ll be a pretty unstoppable live act.

Overall, the whole night was filled with great music courtesy of Funeral Party, fun., and Panic! At the Disco, and is hands down the best tour I’ve attended so far this year.

Funeral Party is on tour with Panic! At the Disco through Wednesday, June 29. For more information on the band, check out their official website.

Originally posted on Blogcritics.

Recap: Alice 97.3’s Summerthing 2011 at Golden Gate Park

Summer officially kicked off in San Francisco yesterday out at Golden Gate Park ith Alice 97.3’s biggest music party, Summerthing 2011. It was my third time attending, and my third time enjoying some fun in the sun and great music.

Once again, the line-up for Summerthing was insanely awesome. It included newcomer, Andrew Allen, Parachute, Michelle Branch, Matt Nathanson, and OneRepublic. By the way, did I mention that this was a free show?

 The very personable Andrew Allen kicked off the afternoon with a short set that included his single, “Loving You Tonight” and a cover of Sumblime’s “What I Got.”

This dude has a bit of swagger to his stage presence. His overall vibe kind of reminds me of fresher Jason Mraz. I would love to hear how he sounds with a full band backing him. I am definitely planning on checking out his album.

Check out his performance of “Loving You Tonight” below!

More Summerthing 2011 goodness after the cut! Continue reading Recap: Alice 97.3’s Summerthing 2011 at Golden Gate Park