LOCATION:
Jones Beach theater, Wantagh, NY (Long Island)
Front row
BANDS:
The Killers
British Sea Power
PRICE: $35.00 (sans Ticketbastard charges)
DETAILS OF EVENT:
CONCESSIONS: A pretzel twist was $4.75 and a bottle of water was $5. I was starving, but I'm also cheap. I went with the medium sized bag of M&Ms for $3.25, which cost more than a bag at the movie theater. Ridiculous. If it wasn't for my lack of energy due to hunger, the cashiers at Jones Beach would have experienced the brunt of my concessions-rage.
VIEW: My seat was AWESOME. The sections at the theater are angled to the stage (so that the further back you go, the wider the row). So even though I was in the last seat of the 4th row according to my ticket, I actually ended up being front row on the right side. I wasn't able to see the drummer, but I managed to get over it.
PRE-SHOW VIBE: Sinatra songs played over the loud speakers while the crew set up the stage. While I waited, I made small talk with a security guard about recent shows at the venue, and how to get to Amityville afterwards, where I was to meet a friend. I mentioned that the last time I was there was for No Doubt/Blink 182 and he said that was one of the best shows he's seen. He was particularly excited that Gwen had touched his head that night when she was prancing by his area of the stage. Around me, the big buzz pre-show was the Yankees game so everyone was rabidly checking their phones for scores and reporting to security any progress.
ATTENDANCE: I'm pretty sure it was almost sold out, which surprised me as this arena holds about 14,000 people. I didn't realize the Killers were so popular that they would fill the place to near-capacity. There were only a few empty seats at the tippity top. I've sat up there, and it SUCKS. Not even worth it unless you're such a diehard fan that you can't let one performance of your favorite band go by. They do have TV screens sidestage for the people up there. But it's still like watching the show from two city blocks away, so I have ruled out sitting in that section as an option for good.
AUDIENCE: A good mix of generations. The Killers are suitable for all ages.
WARDROBE: They were dressed as though they were going out for an evening at a trendy pub. Very much Early Brian Slade.
STAGE SET: Pretty basic-a couple of silver curtains, with a silver backdrop reading "The Killers." Brandon had a kick ass metallic keyboard setup. Other than that it was just the band. The light show was cool, especially during "Jenny Was A Friend of Mine."
SIDE NOTE: I purposefully arrived late, so I have no review of British Sea Power for you. Unless I like the opener already, or need to be up front for a general admission show, I don't bother getting there early. I try to time it so I don't have to sit through bands I don't know and feel forced to fake interest while they're playing. I suppose you could argue that I might be missing out on a great band without knowing it, but really I don't care.
ARI RATING (ADRENALINE RUSH INDEX - 1-10):
Frame of reference:
1= I sat in my chair motionless and felt no emotional connection
10=I walked out bruised and high off nothing but the energy of the show
I give this show a 6. I was excited to see them live for the first time and got my standing-in-place-bounce on, but it was nowhere near an adrenaline high.
SETLIST:
Everything on the CD. They opened with "Jenny..." and closed with "All the Things That I've Done."
HIGHLIGHTS:
Brandon.
Good God. The joker smile wins me over yet again.
Ahem...back to the music...I'd say the highlight for me was "Everything Will Be Alright." I didn't think they'd play that so it was a nice surprise. I liked how they all were lined up frontstage playing their own keyboard for the song (except the guitarist who played his guitar not a keyboard). It gave me a flashback of 311's percussion bit they do during their own concerts. The digital sound effects in the song came across really nice live. The fact that they played the whole CD was a highlight as well. I think they had to because they only have one album and have to fill up at least an hour to justify being a headliner. Also they played "Moonage Daydream", a David Bowie cover.
LOWLIGHTS:
The crowd was just not that into it. I would describe it as "polite screaming." Meaning, after a song was over, there would be some cheering and applause, but it would immediately die down. This created small awkward pauses before the next song started. I'm used to shows where the crowd is damn near animalistic with their response and there is no shutting anyone up. I think some of it is because their stage presence is slightly lacking. They remind me of the Strokes or Oasis- they just kind of stand there. Brandon sporadically walked around, but he pretty much stuck to centerstage. He's no Jacoby Shaddix. Well, no one is. But my point is that the singer's energy is contagious and he is the one who has to connect with the crowd. And if he's just subdued, the crowd will be too. I think they're better suited to a smaller venue, not an arena this size. It's just too hard to reach everyone up in the rafters with the low-key nature of the band's show. Even Brandon announced "We're going to back to clubs after this" after looking out into the crowd and seeing the less than energetic response.
Also for me it was annoying that they played these 2 or 3 other songs I didn't even know. I think it has something to do with the fact that I downloaded their CD off iTunes, so I missed out on bonus tracks that weren't available. The night before, I was on cdzinc.com and saw an alternate version of Hot Fuss that had three other songs listed. I didn't get a chance to hear them prior to the show, but I'll assume these were the unfamiliar tunes. (EDIT: they were.)
DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS SHOW? (YES/NO - EXPLAIN):
Yes, if they play a club, or you can get close seats in an arena. I don't think I would have been as happy in the nosebleed seats. And it's not that I'm not capable- I had last row at Springsteen a few years ago and still rocked out and had a great time.
