Concert Review: Kelly Clarkson Arizona State Fair

The Kelly Clarkson concert at the Arizona State Fair was packed on Saturday November 7^th.  It was a mission to get to the concert, which included the daunting challenge to find parking at the Arizona State Fair and a hike through the packed fair to get to the stadium.  

 

Kelly Clarkson began the night with her album titled song “All I Ever Wanted” the crowd was pumped and ready to go. Keeping the energy going she sang “Miss Independent”. The stage production of the show was blinking fun colorful arrays of violet-blue, red, yellow, blue, and pink lights. The lights were slightly blinding but simple enough to just focus on Kelly’s pure talent.

 

Clarkson dazzled the crowd, when she performed an acoustic cover song called “Lies by the Black Keys” followed up by a country song by Patsy Cline “After Midnight.” Clarkson’s vocals were amazing as the filled the venue! The crowd loved the country vibe and went wild for the trumpet solo in the song and had the whole crowd clapping to the beat. After the song ended they cut all stage production and did an acoustic version of “Hazel Eyes” with the audience, where Clarkson had the crowd singing parts of the chorus as the lights switched from the stage to the crowd, cuing them to belt it out.

 

To close out the end of her set, Clarkson sang her hits “Because of You”, “Walk away”, and “Since You Been Gone”. By this point in the show the majority of the crowd was on their feet jumping up and down, hands high in the air, and belting out Clarkson’s lyrics with her. Clarkson rejoiced at how great the crowd was and thanked them for being so great. The last song of the set was “My Life Would Suck” and the crowd was still dancing by the end of the concert. The show ended around an hour and half long and the crowd seem to love Kelly Clarkson by the end.

 

The show was mode chic and focused on the music. Audience members from little kids to mid-twenties men and old ladies seemed to walk away from the concert satisfied if not wanting more. Clarkson didn’t need dramatic effects or a theme behind her tour because her talent in itself will blow you away! 

 

The mission was well worth it and after seeing her performance you have a complete understanding of why she was the American Idol winner. 

Concert Review: Chevelle Out of this World Performance

By D. Marcher, www.FromTheCrowd.com
Chevelle, the Chicago trio consisting of Pete Loeffler (vocals, guitars), Sam Loeffler (drums) and Dean Bernardini (bass, live backing vocals) performed at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe on October 27 in support of their new album Sci-Fi Crimes.

It was an evening full of music with three opening bands, The Asylum, New Medicine and After Midnight Project. While The Asylum seemed to be heavier metal rock, then one would expect for a Chevelle concert, New Medicine seemed to bridge the musical gap and After Midnight Projects’ performance completed the transition and was able to draw the majority of the crowd that had been waiting on the patio into the theatre, proving they are an excellent tour companion.

Chevelle took the stage around 10:15, providing an entertaining and interactive experience to the crowd. Accompanied by dence fog, green and deep blue lighting the stage defiantly set to provide a Sci –Fi feeling and allow the audience to be abducted by the trio.

It was immediately down to business as the intricate rifts of the first song began as the crowd exploded. Pete travelled across the stage ensuring to not neglect anyone from the audience. Vocals were right on point as the Marquee filled with energy from the performance. The crowd loved the musical journey they were on. The venue was not filled to capacity, however, this was an advantage as it allowed concertgoers to move freely to the music and not just stand there listening to it.

Clips from various movies would play providing transitions between songs and at times Pete would interacting to the crowd, at one point stating the obvious “As you can see know we’re sort of into the whole alien thing now.” But then followed by a surprising request, “ Oh and if anyone’s had any alien encounters we’d love to talk to you after the show” some members of the audience laughed others seemed very excited by the opportunity.

Chevelle set list was dominated by their latest effort, Sci-Fi Crimes featuring “Sleep Apnea”, “Jars”, “Letter From A Thief”, “Roswell Spell” and others. The Trio also played fan favorites such as “The Red” “Send the Pain Below” from Wonder What’s Next, and “Vitamin R (Leading Us Along)” from This Type of Thinking Could Do Us In during their 90 minute set.

Overall, it was a dynamic night of music. As I drove past the tour busses shortly after midnight, I couldn’t help but wonder about the small crowd that remained patiently waiting. Were they just dedicated fans or did they have they had alien abduction stories for Chevelle?  Your guess is as good as mine!

Concert Review: Blink-182 - Big Heart, Big Show, Big Kids

Blink-182, Tom DeLonge (vocals, guitar), Mark Hoppus (vocals, bass) and Travis Barker (drums) took the stage shortly before 10:30pm to close out Saturday nights Arizona Fall Frenzy. The enormous crowd, which seemed to fill Tempe Beach Park to compacity, exploaded and screamed in unison as Blink-182 began their performance.

It was obvious that the crowd felt this reunion tour was well overdue and was immediately satisfied as their set featured their most popular songs, ‘Down’, ‘Dumpweed’, ‘What’s my Age Again?’, just to name a few.

Shortly after beginning their set, Hoppus stopped to recognize the significance of the day. Mark explained to the crowd that today, was the one year anniversary of the tragic plane crash that took the lives of their dear friend Chris, as well as the pilots and Barkers security guard. He continued to recognize Barkers injuries and shared that Blink-182 was going to donate $100,000 for tonight performance to burn centers in Georgia and Los Angeles.

The beginning cords of ‘I Miss You’ began to be play as Hoppus dedicated the song to Chris. While this could have easily mellowed the spirits of the crowd, the opposite effect held true as the concertgoers enthusiastically supported the band in singing the song, with many in the crowd remarking as to how impressed they were with Barkers performance.

It seemed at that moment that the boys of Blink-182 who were the heroes of teen angst in the late 90’s had matured… well… until immediately after the next song,  ‘Stay Together For The Kids’.  DeLonge asked Hoppus, if he remember about their early trips to Arizona and how with the extream desert heat, their ball sacks would just get bigger and bigger.  Hoppus agreed and DeLonge continued stating ‘The he could t-bag your mother from stilts’…

With each new song came an anecdote or dedication, with both Hoppus and DeLonge taking time to address each other and the audience. At times they were obvious, such as dedicating ‘First Date’ to all those on a first date to Hoppus calling out DeLonge for totally blowing a song and then erupting into ‘All the Small Things’.

In addition to taking advantage of any moment to joke one another about each other’s playing the sexual references and lyric changes were plentiful the remainder of the concert . Boys will be boys… in some cases… forever.

This was undeniably a Blink-182 show, and although this tour is their first in nearly five years, the bands chemistry was obvious. Their musical performance met or exceeded everyone expectations and their on stage banter throughout the performance kept the evening entertaining and provided an intimate experience for the crowd.  For many attending this concert, this was a flashback to a differnt era and if the vibe from this concerts hold true, Blink-182 should have a great future in store for us.

Incubus Rocks Hard and Soft

See all of the pictures from tonights concert

Incubus, currently on tour supporting their greatest hits album “Monuments and Melodies” came to the Valley of the Sun on August 25 at the Jobbing.com Arena.

The concert kicked off with a sultry performance by the, A Duke Spirit, a British band formed in 2003 that is relatively unknown in the US. The lead singer, Liela Moss, strutted her stuff, as the band performed their pop/blues melodies for the crowd eager for Incubus. While it seemed on odd pairing for a supporting artist, the audience seemed to enjoy their performance.

The first 30-45 minutes of the concert rocked hard, as Incubus set list was loaded with majority of their top radio hits during the first half of the show. Midway through the performance, thy slowed things down and Boyd pulled out a rhythm guitar for the song,”Oil in Water” which sent the crowd into a frenzy. The acoustic set continued for 3-4 songs providing a totally different feel to the venue and allowed to truly appreciate Incubuses musical talent and Boyd’s’ vocals. An obvious fan favorite was the acoustic version of “Dig” in which Boyd played the bongos.

The pace of the show then picked up again and allowed the crowd to take in the bands high energy. As the night progressed, the concert truly became something for ‘real’ fans. For the last half if their set, Incubus performed a great deal of their, still popular, but lesser known songs.

Overall, the performance was dynamic and it almost felt as though the audience had just attended two different concerts, and it was fantastic to see both sides of Incubus live.

Concert Review: Green Day earns a 21 Gun Salute

Review and Photos by Stephanie Baldwin
View the Concert Gallery Here: http://fromthecrowd.com/984/concert-photos-green-day-august-22-2009/

Green Day, the punk rock trio, consisting of Billie Joe Armstrong (vocals, guitar), Mike Dirnt (bass guitar, vocals), and Tré Cool (drums, percussion), brought their latest dynamic, and literally explosive concert experience to US Airways Center on August 22.

The superb set list provided a mix of songs from their latest release “21 century Breakdown”, their 2005 “American Idiot” as well as songs from their previous releases and a few covers that were masterfully arranged.

Impressive stage production combined: fire, fireworks, spectacular lighting, video backdrops and more. It was visually hypnotizing and while it could have been considered over the top or distracting for any other artist, Green Day was able to command the stage and remain the center of attention, with their powerful vocals, lyrics and musical expertise. Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool shined on stage and it was brilliant to see Billie Joe Armstrong play riffs with skill that would rival any other guitar great.

The trio was able to change the tempo of the performance without missing a beat. It didn’t matter if the band participated in various onstage shenanigans (which included water guns, toilet paper blowers, various costumes and a full mooning of the audience) or if there was a single spotlight on stage for an acoustic solo, the crowds’ energy was invested for the entire set.

Green Day delivers musically, instrumentally and provides an eye catching stage show, however this is not what makes their concert, quite possibly, the best touring today. The bands uncanny ability to get the audience deeply involved in their performance, is what sets them apart. Armstrong, not only yells, motivates and speaks to the crowd, he goes one step further and gains active participation. He is very aware of the crowd and seems to have a gift for plucking the most entertaining concertgoers out of the audience. At a Green Day concert the crowd is just another instrument that the band utilizes during their performance.

Often, these crowd interactions generate some of the most memorable moments of the show, as was the case at this evenings concert. Tonight, Armstrong selected a handful of crowd members to

join him on stage at different points of the performance. Perhaps the most memorable, was a female concertgoer that laid a big fat kiss on Armstrong immediately after joining him on stage as he performed, “East Jesus Nowhere”. After recovering from the shock, he then proceeded to convince her to leap of the front of the stage to crowd surf among the other fans who were eager to participate. (You can see her leap in the concert gallery)

 

Kissing wasn’t the only talent Phoenix fans had to offer. Two concertgoers made their vocal debuts singing “Longview”, the female chosen was obviously nervous but quickly navigated her way through the first few versus. It was then her male counterpart’s opportunity and he rocked the stage. I think everyone’s jaw dropped a bit, including Armstrong’s as this guy knew how to sing and had stage presence to boot. At the end of the song Armstrong announced that the two had been the best they’d seen on tour so far!

The final audience participant joined in on playing guitar for “Jesus of Suburbia” which was one of the four songs performed as an encore. Armstrong raised the bar and required it t0 be someone that actually knew how to play the song, and even challenged a few of those eager to participate to name the key it was in. The guy finally selected, proved his worth and performed as if he belonged with the band and did not miss a beat.

The concert ended appropriately with Armstrong singing “Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)”, which everyone in attendance could agree that they had. Overall the performance was epic and the best concert to come to the Valley this year and for that, Green Day deserves the highest honor of a 21 gun salute.

Green Day August 22 Set List:

“Know Your Enemy”
“East Jesus Nowhere”
“Holiday”
“The Static Age”
“Before the Lobotomy”
“Are We The Waiting”
“St. Jimmy”
“Boulevard of Broken Dreams”
“Hitchin a Ride” Foxboro Hot Tubs aka Green Day (check out the review on this side project)
“Brain Stew”
“Jaded”
“Longview”
“Basketcase”
“She”
“King for a Day” (which included excerpts covers of “Shout”, “Break on Through (to the Other Side)”, “Suspicious Minds” and “I’ll Be There.”)
“21 Guns”
“American Eulogy”
“21 Guns.”

Encore
“American Idiot”
“Jesus of Suburbia”
“Minority”
“Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)”

If you attended this concert; feel free to share your experience and comment below or send us your review! contribute(at)FromTheCrowd.com

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