The first one was last month - Jon Bellion at the Egyptian Room. Jenn and Kelly came to town for the event and, after an afternoon of eating and bar hopping on Mass Ave, we made our way to the Murat for the show.
I'm still not really sure how to define Jon Bellion's music. I guess I'd call it electronic hip hop, but the unique fusion of genres in his music explained the diversity of his opening acts. The show started with American Idol Season 14 runner-up Clark Beckham, who I actually got to meet a couple years ago. I'm a big fan of his voice and soulful, blues-y style, so it was the perfect way to kick off the show for me.
After Clark, two of Jon's collaborators came out to perform - Travis Mendes, a Brooklyn R&B singer, and Blaque Keyz, a rapper from Boston who gave the crowd his actual phone number if they wanted to talk to him. Whoa. The three of us had battled our way about halfway to the stage in a large standing-only room and I quickly realized I was easily one of the oldest people at the venue. Fortunately, I was able to dismiss that little detail once Jon came out and electrified the room.
My goodness. His stage presence was ridiculous - he danced like crazy, interacted with the crowd, beat-boxed, sang, and played the piano and electronic drum machine. Nearly everyone in the room sang the lyrics along with him and I truly can't remember the last time I saw a crowd that was so in tune with the artist performing. His set list consisted heavily of songs from his most recent album, The Human Condition, but he closed with an oldie that made the entire room explode.
He is the Same
Woodstock
All Time Low
Run Wild
Guillotine
80's Films
Human (with Jon's bus driver Sweet Pea on piano)
Woke the F*ck Up
Overwhelming
Maybe IDK
Luxury
iRobot
New York Soul, Pt. II
Hand of God
Jim Morrison
Last weekend, Wheat and I scratched an artist off my music bucket list when we bought tickets to see Lady Gaga at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Unfortunately, our tickets, which were in the stratosphere and rear stage seating, were pretty horrendous. From our vantage point, we couldn't see half of the stage and the sound was slightly muffled because the speakers were pointing away from us. But I have to say - despite all of that, Gaga absolutely slayed. Insert heart-eyed emoji.
You know an artist isn't messing around when they don't even bother with an opening act. Although she came onstage an hour and a half after the ticket time, she was nonstop energy from curtain up to curtain down. The show was a fast and furious two-hour blitz through her greatest hits:
Diamond Heart
A-Yo
Poker Face
Perfect Illusion
John Wayne
Scheiße
Alejandro
Just Dance
LoveGame
Telephone
Applause
Come to Mama
The Edge of Glory
Born This Way
Bloody Mary
Dancin' in Circles
Paparazzi
Angel Down
Joanne
Bad Romance
The Cure
Million Reasons
I can't even begin to guess how many costume changes there were, but every time she left the stage, I was anxious to see what she'd come out in next. As you'd expect, the show was a perfect balance of poppy dance music and heartfelt ballads that she performed on both the piano and guitar. A long bridge that descended from the ceiling connected the main stage with a circular secondary stage on the other side of the arena. She and her enthusiastic backup dancers somehow kept the entire crowd entertained.
Aside from her undeniable vocal talent (DUH!), I was really impressed by the love and appreciation she clearly has for her fans. She took time to honor a girl in the crowd who was suffering from cerebral palsy and dedicated "The Edge of Glory" to her. She also read aloud a fan letter that had been thrown onto the stage before jumping down to hug the girl who wrote it.
Though I already loved her, I came away from the concert with an even deeper appreciation for her as an artist and performer. All hail, Mother Monster.
What about you? Have you seen any good live shows lately?
Those concerts sound fun, but neither is Rob Thomas...
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