Manager & Concert Photographer of Burning Hot Events
Photographer, Web Designer & Developer, Video Producer, Graphic Designer, Entrepreneur, Freelancer, concert-junkie, musician, dancer, #1 fan of LOTR & the Spice Girls, cat-lover, & moar!
PHOENIX — Brand New came to Comerica Theatre alongside Modest Mouse for their co-headlining 2016 tour. The show came very shortly after the July releases of a 10″ EP called 3 Demos, Reworked, and a 7″ single of Mene. The band started touring on June 1 in Vancouver, and will finish on July 31 in Portland.
The young crowd of Phoenicians might have had viral case of “the Mondays” spreading amongst them, or perhaps all of Brand New’s die-hard fans from the early 2000s were stuck “adulting”; because as Brand New took took the dark stage guided by flashlights, the audience’s hush with an occasional lackluster “WOO!” was equivalent to that of a crowd at a local pub who weren’t quite sure what they were in for. But without a hint of concern or scolding, the band went along with in it good humor by sushing the sparse cheers. Frontman Jesse Lacey whispered their introduction and title of the first song.
With their signature sound and high energy accompanied by strobe lights, Brand New woke them up and rocked their socks off. The audience was transfixed during their moody downtempo songs, and they showed their love for the rest of the show!
SCOTTSDALE Ariz. — Equipped with a new lineup after a six-year hiatus, Cali power-pop band Rooney’s first gig of their tour had the crowd sh-sh-shakin’ every moment of their performance! The dimly-lit concert at Pub Rock was opened with local Americana/Pop band Luxxe, followed by Cheeto-tossing G-punk band New Beat Fund from Los Angeles.
The tour follows the release of Rooney’s new album “Washed Away“; and the first single from the album is “My Heart Beats 4 U”.
Washed Away (Album Art)
“Rooney is my baby and I really love it and I miss it. I came to a place where I felt creatively ready to make new Rooney music. On Washed Away, I wrote, produced, engineered, mixed and performed all of the songs which, I hope, will serve as a direct line from me to you. I hope you enjoy it.” – Robert Schwartzman, lead singer. (Source: RooneyMusic.com)
The majority of the crowd appeared to consist of young new fans , which is great for the future of Rooney! Robert gave a heartfelt thank you to those that have been loyal to the band from the very beginning.
Check out our photos (below) of Rooney performing at Pub Rock Live in Scottsdale, Arizona on July 9, 2016:
Photos of We, Beloved performing at Shady Park in Tempe, Arizona on May 28, 2016. We, Beloved was the first opening band for Jane N’ The Jungle at their music video premiere and concert. (Check out our photo albums of second opener Korbe in the Moment, and headliner Jane N’ The Jungle!)
Phoenix, Ariz. – Jim Adkins, lead singer of Jimmy Eat World, returned home to Arizona last night, bringing his solo project super chill “dude-with-a-guitar” gig to Valley Bar. The show sold out at least a month in advance, which is no surprise considering the success of the band he fronts, the success of his recent European tour, and the special place he holds in the hearts of those in his hometown.
Set Times – Jim Adkins at Valley Bar 4-30-16
A refreshing deviation from the norm, the show unexpectedly opened with stand up from Anwar Newton instead of an opening band. Recruited by Adkins, he loosened up the crowd before it was going to “get emo”. Newton succeeded in garnering laughter from the audience with off-color humor about topics like self-righteous coworkers, a carjacker who couldn’t drive manual, separation of food and politics, and paying taxes versus giving blowjobs (in his opinion… there’s no question, BJs FTW). For those that came to see Adkins, this was an engaging act, and time passed quickly before Adkins took the stage. It was unique that, as the headliner, he was the second act of the night with more bands following.
As emotional as Adkins’ music is, he brought a very lighthearted, slightly goofy stage presence to Valley Bar. He was excited to be playing at Valley Bar for the first time! Despite 23 years in Jimmy Eat World, he is arguably the least pretentious major musician you could ever meet. Adkins effortlessly tapped into the vulnerable emotions of his music, while still interjecting his quirky sense of humor between songs. One moment he was singing heart-wrenching lyrics like, “Are we too damaged now to possibly connect?”, and the next, he was joking about learning Slayer songs to play upon request.
Setlist – Click to Enlarge
For the set, Adkins played songs from his “I Will Go” EP, as well as select J.E.W. songs and covers. Without falter, his vocals delivered exactly what you would expect from listening to his records, with the only noticeable difference being intentional changes to the melody for the performance. Adkins’ guitar is like an extension of himself, which lends itself to his ability to fully invest in the nuances of his vocal performance. He is a seasoned musician with the ability to genuinely connect with his adoring audience on the same level.
For some solo projects, such as Nate Ruess and The Band Romantic or Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra, the artist performs with a full live band. For Adkins’ solo endeavors, he may be only one man with an acoustic guitar on a big empty stage, but these humble, low-key vibes are exactly what he goes for.
In a 2015 interview, Adkins told Substream Magazine that, “…planning out an encore makes me feel like an asshole.” So it was unsurprising that when Adkins exited the stage, that was the end of his set. He loaded up his equipment himself afterward, which he joked is what rock ‘n roll really is. Some in the crowd were overheard asking, “Why is he carrying out his stuff himself?”
Jim Adkins is a totally normal guy who happens to be a world-famous musician, and Arizona is proud to call him our own.
TEMPE, Ariz. — CHVRCHES, Scottish synthpop / indietronica band, began their set at Marquee Theatre with the first track of their Every Open Eye album, “Never Ending Circles”. The power of their performance was a force to be reckoned with. Lauren Mayberry’s vocals were very impressive and unique, which could especially be appreciated live. The show was sold out, and the energy of the crowd was beautiful. The high-production light show behind the band was dazzling.
Mobile Photo of CHVRCHES performing at Marquee Theatre
It was during only the second song, “Keep You On My Side”, that something seemed to be amiss; as Lauren’s vocals started cracking suspiciously early into the show for vocal strain to be an issue. In the midst of “Empty Threat”, Lauren stopped singing for what one might have assumed was exacerbation about an equipment failure. Her band mates continued playing a bit longer, until it was clear that she just wasn’t having it. They looked over at Lauren with clear concern and made haste to put the show on pause, explaining that she was very sick.
If a vocalist pushes to perform when they are truly too sick to be singing, they can permanently damage their voice. Any true fan, or person with a shred of compassion for that matter, should be glad that she was taking care of herself instead of running that risk. It must have sucked for the band and crew too, since they were producing a motion picture about the band at this concert; as indicated by a print-out at the box office window.
A personal opinion: The experience of the first 2 and 1/2 songs alone was enough to satisfy.
The crowd waited in anticipation for a few minutes, before CHVRCHES came back on stage. Determined to give their fans a show worth their time and effort to make it out, Lauren Mayberry and Martin Doherty traded places. Martin sang “We Sink”, which is normally sung by Lauren, and he BROUGHT IT! This was Martin’s time to shine, as he saved the night owning the performance with magical energy and ear candy vocals. Concert-goer grins were huge as they were cheering him on for taking the role, and the roar of the crowd was deafening!
That atmosphere carried through as Martin fronted two more songs that he regularly sings – “High Enough to Carry You Over” and “Under the Tide”. We were all thrilled and united in heartfelt support, and didn’t feel shafted.
Lauren came back to sing for the last song on their set that would be cut short. She told us she would be taking measures to avoid vomiting on stage. Speaking of her performance up until then, she shamefully confessed and apologized that she didn’t have pitch due to the illness. Fans nearby could be overheard speaking in a tone of surprise about how they hadn’t noticed. She gave a heartfelt monologue expressing their gratitude to fans, and assuring that their tickets would be good when CHVRCHES comes back to Arizona in October.
CHVRCHES closed their concert with “The Mother We Share”, after which the crowd quickly funneled out. In my opinion, this wasn’t a terrible time to finish, considering it was Sunday night… Any 9-to-5ers can typically relate to this sentiment. Of course CHVRCHES was, without a doubt, worth coming out. And even though they gave us 7 songs vs. their full set, that sentiment certainly rang true to the dense crowd.
No regrets. We are grateful that CHVRCHES did everything they could to satiate hungry fans, and their live concert was incredible regardless of the length (…which really wasn’t that short). Get well soon Lauren! We appreciate your professionalism, and you don’t need to apologize. You are human – take care of yourself! Arizona will eagerly anticipate your return!
Update: The make-up show is Thursday, October 6. Your ticket from the April 24th concert will be accepted for entry.
If you would prefer to have a refund issued, contact the Marquee box office by phone at 480.829.1300 (M to F, 12p-6p) or by email at [email protected] no later than May 18 to process a refund. Have your ticket confirmation # handy.
A special thank you to Dustin Mitchell for contributing the setlist for this review.
I had the honor of being asked to produce a video for Nate Ruess, as he paid homage to the late, great Prince last night at Alt AZ 93.3’s FestivALT in downtown Phoenix, Arizona!
Check out the mind-blowing performance from Nate Ruess and The Band Romantic below!
