Lifehouse “Who We Are” Tour 10.22.2007

By D. Marcher, FromTheCrowd.com Contributor

As many of you did not know, judging by the size of the crowd, Lifehouse performed at the Marquee Theater on October 22^nd.  Even though the Marquee was only filled to about half capacity, Lifehouse performed as though they were entertaining an arena full of their biggest fans.  Unfortunately the same can not be said for their opening acts, luckily, the fans realized that there was light, in this case Lifehouse, at the end of the tunnel.

HoneyHoney, kicked the show off with their unique folk take on rock, perhaps their sound is best describe by their MySpace, calling it backyard rhythm.  The duo, comprised of Suzanne Santo, the singer and violinist and Ben Jaffe, rhythm guitar and bass drum, charmed the small audience.  Santo, while small in stature wowed the audience with her strong vocals.  She looked sweet and innocent; however, this was all dispelled when she began singing a playful song dedicated to all of the couples in attendance.  While their music was heavily based upon prose, it was lighthearted and fun, something that is often not found in the music of today.  As the crowd slowly trickled in, everyone in attendance seemed to enjoy the performance, which was actually their last with the Lifehouse tour

Unfortunately, the same can not be said for the next band, Midway State a quartet from Toronto, that just joined the tour the day before.  With that said, perhaps it is this lack of experience on the stage, which made this performance so disappointing.  Midway State provided easy pop rock melodies that seemed to fall upon deaf ears, as they were unable to capture that audience with their performance.  The crowd, which was now about quarter capacity, freely walked around in and out of the theater, with little interest in the performance.

For the fans that had come for Lifehouse, this was just not their type of music and I would say a poor selection for the tour to compliment Lifehouse.  Perhaps it was best said by Amber, 18 from Phoenix, “I didn’t leave because I wanted to save my spot (in the crowd) for Lifehouse, otherwise I would have.”  Amber, was not alone in her sentiment, Mike, 30 of Goodyear, said “I would have come later, had I known.”    Midway States’ lead singer was full of dramatic movements and obvious angst, but it seemed self absorbed.  To be honest, I would have been just as happy to have listened to elevator music, while waiting for Lifehouse, and those in the audience that were listening to their mp3 players, must have felt the same way.

Finally, Lifehouse, the trio comprised of Jason Wade, Rick Woolstenhulme, Bryce Soderberg, came on stage to the delight of all of those in attendance.  Jason Wade erupted into “Make Me Over”, followed by “Spin” and the crowd couldn’t have been happier.  The audience ate up the high energy level that Lifehouse emitted.  You could instantly tell that this crowd was in for a great evening of music.  Not letting the size of the crowd place a damper on the evening, couples danced together freely, almost as if this is the way the audience should have been.  The boys of Lifehouse made full use of the large stage, Bryce, the bassist, even leaped onto the speakers to the surprise of the crowd.  There were plenty of other surprises too, such as Bryce taking on lead vocals for a cover of  Badfingers’, “No Matter What”.  Jason Wade’s vocals were as impeccable as ever as he commanded the stage, leading the crowd through seven songs from “Who We Are”, the latest Lifehouse release.  Jason and company, of course, also played fan favorites such as their mega hit, “Hanging by a Moment” and even dedicated “You and Me” to all of the fans in attendance.  Overall, Lifehouse managed to salvage a somewhat disappointing night of music, into one of my favorite concerts this year.