TheJHub.com

All > Arts & Entertainment > Live Music
Saturday's concert was a success
Topics:
Posted by Jen1180 Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:37:50 MDT
Viewed 255 times
0 responses 0 comments By Jenny Wixom
jwixom@journalnet.com
    As odd as it seems, it is really hard for me to review concerts. First of all, I love them all. Especially when they happen right here in Pocatello. Having a concert here could almost never be a bad thing. Beggars can’t be chosers, as they say. Second of all, I have been to so many concerts that I kind of have a  “if you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all” mentality about them.
    That being said, there are several things about Saturday’s Jimmy Eat World/Paramore concert that are definitely worth noting. The first thing that comes to my mind is ‘Wow, what a turn out!’ Adam James, the producer of the show and owner of Visual Sound Productions said that the floor area of the Holt Arena sold out, and all together about 4,300 tickets were sold.
    I knew that there would be a lot of people there, but there was something about seeing serveral lines starting at the front doors of the Holt Area continuing nearly to the back of the parking lot. And that is a big parking lot.
    The opening band, Dear and the Headlights are a folk rock band from Arizona. While definetly talented in their own genre, their musical style was different enough from the other two bands set to perform that night that I think the crowd had a hard time getting into them. Perhaps the crowd was just saving their energy.
    Speaking of energy, what Paramore brought to stage is my most prominant thought of that night.
    Their set began with drummer Zac Farro doing a solo. A minute or so in the other band members ran onto the stage from the side. Without delay, singer Hayley demonstrated what helped get the band where they are today: her voice. Hayley is a small girl, she probably weighs no more than 90 pounds soaking wet. But the voice that comes out of that small frame is absolutely incredible. She began with a very beautiful, very feminine melody and then went from that to punk and rock and everything in between.
    She was great at crowd interaction as well. Several times throughout their set she held the microphone out to the crowd so they could sing along. I don’t think she stood still for more than a few seconds at a time the whole set.
    But, by far and above, the highlight of the evening was the Jeremy Davis bass backflip, as I have been calling it. Bass player Jemermy Davis did a backflip over one of the guitar players, bass in hand and all. Seriously. That would have been amazing by itself, but while holding the bass? Have you ever held a bass guitar? Let’s just say it is not one of music’s lighter instruments.
    When Jimmy Eat World took the stage, I was honestly impressed with how many fans crowded toward the stage. I thought that most of the people were there to see Paramore. It seemed as though the number of people on the floor had doubled by the time Jimmy Eat World started playing. Although not as energetic as Parmore, they brought their own charisma to the stage.
    They performed more new material than the older material that I am familiar with, but a glance around the crowd proved that almost everyone there knew all the words to every song.
    One thing that really struck me about the show was the dramatic age difference in the people in attendance. I would guess that the average age of the concert goers was around the 14 to 15 year old mark. There were even parents there with very young kids (wearing ear plugs to protect their delicate hearing, thank goodness).
        I had a thought while glancing around the crowd, ‘When I was in high school most of these kids were in diapers!’ A lot of kids were even there with their parents.
    But no, that is not a bad thing. Quite the contrary. For one, people, expecially the younger crowd, are always complining that there is nothing to do here. Granted the concert was only one night, still they have to admit that it was a pretty big deal. Also, parents did not have to worry about kids driving a long distance, such as Salt Lake to see a show. Much safer.
    Also, it was great to see that so many parents recognized that letting your kid go to a rock show is not necessarily a bad thing. Think of all the exercise they got while bouncing around to Paramore’s “Crushcrushcrush.” Also, it was a safe, familiar enviroment.
    The only negative thing I would have to say (and this pangs me) is that I wish there had been a little bit more enthusiasm within the crowd. To those of you who were up front near the stage, disregard this, but at one point Paramore singer Hayley Williams even said, “Pocatello, I know you’ve got more than what you’re giving us.”
    A lot of the people in the stands never even stood up during the whole show. Perhaps for many people there it was their first concert and didn’t know how to act, but the great thing about music, especially live, is that it moves for you. A concert is a great way to let go of your inhibitions and just dance. Or at  least jump up and down or do the robot or worm or something, anything!
    Overall I was greatly impressed with the perfromances I saw on Saturday night, and I hope all in atttendance had a great time as well.

Reply or Comment

Send to a Friend

Report a Violation