AJR played it from the big stage to the cheap seats at Pechanga Area
On May 1st New York indie pop trio AJR brought their infectious catchy tunes to Pechanga Arena. AJR are brothers Adam, Jack, and Ryan Met, all talented multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriters who mix their traditional instruments (guitar, bass, piano) with a heavy dose of computer beats and programming. Starting as buskers on the streets of New York City, the brothers have risen fast over the past nine years, playing clubs, theaters, and festivals and embarking on their first arena tour. The band name-checked House of Blues’s Voodoo Room, the first venue they performed at in San Diego.
This show featured a stunning audiovisual production with giant LED screens, fun visual illusions, a dazzling array of lights, and giant inflatables. The crowd for the concert was surprisingly young, with tons of parents carefully easing their kids into the arena rock experience; whole families could be seen enjoying the kid-friendly jams. Throughout the massive audience, there were many signs, costumes, and people rocking lead singer Jack’s trademark floppy-eared fur hat.
The concert was a mix of music and theater, with the group performing elaborately staged choreography along with each song. For the opening song “The Maybe Man,” multiple copies of lead signer Jack appeared onstage, all wearing the same clothes and hat for a fun real-life optical illusion. Later in the set, Jack emerged elevated onstage, seen through the center of the giant LED screens, he appeared to be flying, driving a car, and riding a bicycle, and at one point being hoisted up high above the stage on wires. For the band’s hit song “Bang!” Jack competed with a virtual shadow version of himself performing an elaborate drum solo. One real mood changer in the show was the song “God is Really Real,” written as a tribute to the band’s father Gary, who passed away last year from cancer. The touching song and the clear love the band had for their father left few dry eyes in the large arena.
As a counterpoint, one of the truly uplifting highlights of the show was when the brothers all traveled into the uppermost level of the arena performing the song “World’s Smallest Violin” while seated amongst the crowd. A preplanned drum line suddenly appeared in front of them to bang out the track on the safety bars in the front row of the upper level, shaking the arena with vibrations. This moment was thrilling and watching all the fans, especially the little kids, light up with emotion being so shockingly close to their favorite band was magical. Clearly, this group cares a lot about giving their fans an incredible experience at their shows, and crew members from the tour were seen distributing guitar picks and set lists to the youngest fans in attendance.
AJR also employed several talented touring musicians who added tremendously to the ensemble and effectively covered a lot of the band’s set changes. Violinist Ginny Luke was a powerhouse and a thrill to watch on stage, Chris Berry on drums wailed away and somehow navigated playing on top of a tremendous amount of programmed beats, and trumpet player Arnetta Johnson was thrilling blasting away on her horn and hyping up the crowd.
Unfortunately, at one low point in this show, the brothers had to stop their performance due to technical difficulties and ad-libbed a fairly long crowd interaction. However, as they say, the show must go on and the tech team eventually got everything moving and back on track. Seeing the high-level production this band was able to put together for their very first arena tour, I’d say any hiccups were well worth the effort to make such a special show for their fans. AJR is still a talented band on the rise and is an absolute blast to see live, their show is highly recommended for music fans of all ages.
