Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Member Review: Jonas Brothers

BPD member BabyBoi wrote us:
The Jonas Brothers will have to be declared a threat to healthy hearing if this fan screaming thing keeps up.

Mostly female teens and their mothers and BFFs, were at their decibel-breaking peak last night as the Jonas Brothers put on a slick theatrical concert.

It was a good thing that the boys came with plenty of amplification (and a 10-piece band) because they needed every watt just to be heard over the incredibly loud cheers of fans.

Note to self, bring earplugs and Aspirin next time teen idols come to town.

It appears that the Disney Channel juggernauts called Jonas Brothers act still have some life left in them after all.They are an entertainment machine. That constantly revolving stage was a thing of beauty, giving the band and concert a sense of energy, especially when lit.

And even though Nick seemed to be the shyest of the three, he was by far the strongest and most natural musician, even playing the drums during Live To Party.

Joe was the most colourful, playing the host, complimenting the girls on their signs and running back and forth across the constantly revolving stage.

Known as much for their music and TV and film projects as their love lives -- Nick has previously been involved with Miley Cyrus, Joe dated both Taylor Swift and Camille Belle and Kevin is engaged to his longtime sweetheart -- the Jonas Brothers first came to mainstream attention as guests on Cyrus' Disney Channel show, Hannah Montana, before hitting it big in last year's Disney movie, Camp Rock. (They said last night that they would begin filming the sequel in about a week.)

The Queen anthem We Will Rock You heralded the trio's arrival from beneath their huge in-the-round, rotating stage which boasted a UFO-like lighting rig and a circular video screen as they opened the night with Paranoid, the catchy first single from their most recent album, Lines, Vines and Trying Times.

"Let's get this party started right," said Joe before launching into the second song of the night, That's Just the Way We Roll.

But it was the third song of the night, Poison Ivy, that really ramped up the action as the band of brothers was joined by a four-man horn section while steam blasted all around them.

Mindless teenage pop songs with titles like Hold On, Play My Music, Year 3000, Live to Party, BB Good, World War III, Lovebug, S.O.S. and Burnin' Up (with bodyguard Big Rob making an appearance), encouraged massive singalongs and the slightest movement by one of the brothers -- like when Kevin simply spun around with his guitar flying behind him -- prompted major reactions.

"It's good to be back here," said Joe. "We love it here".

In a more serious moment, Nick played piano on Fly With Me and A Little Bit Longer, the latter during which he discussed his (Type 1) Diabetes diagnosis four years ago and thanked fans for their support.

"I made a commitment that it would not slow me down," said Nick. "And this past year alone, I met the president of the United States, we've had a second Rolling Stone cover and thanks to all of you, our second No. 1 album. And tonight I'm playing in a place I drove by every day to the set of Camp Rock, and every day, my brothers and I would say, we're going to play there one day."

But it was really the upbeat songs and goofy stunts, like having a trampoline in the middle of the stage on which all three brothers performed flips -- although Joe had a rough landing: "My butt's a big sore right now. I usually land that," he told me later backstage, that made for some of the evening's best moments.

Joe and Kevin also sprayed water on their fans from a moving crane during Live to Party while Nick handled drums and then the brothers got rained on themselves during Lovebug.

The trio even threw in a decent cover of the Black Eyed Peas' I Got a Feeling leading into their own Tonight and melted more hearts during the ballads I Need to Find You -- which saw their stage lift them up above their band -- Turn Right and When You Look Me In the Eyes.


SET LIST

Paranoid

That's Just the Way We Roll

Poison Ivy

Hold On

Play My Music

Fly With Me

A Little Bit Longer

Much Better

Year 3000

I Got a Feeling/Tonight

I Need to Find You

This Is Me (a duet with Demi Lovato)

Turn Right

When You Look Me In the Eyes

Sweet Caroline

Live to Party

BB Good

World War III

Battlefield (with Jordin Sparks)

Lovebug

S.O.S.

ENCORE:

Burnin' Up

I was gonna see the show from backstage with my younger sister, (whom I had gotten the passes for) but the thought of hysterical pre-menstrual or just menstrual teens with their mommies was more than I could handle. Joanna, my sis, was glassy-eyed for ten minutes when we hooked up again and all she could say was "F**king awesome!" I'll have to take her word for it.

BPD, you made my sis' dream come true. My opinions aside, she owes ya.
Glad she enjoyed it. Our member always do.

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