The guy to girl ratio was slightly skewed
You would think, with a bass, a marching bass drum, keyboards, synthesizers, 2 guitars, 2 vocals, an accordion, sleigh bells, a drum kit, an electric drum kit, a children's drum kit, an organ and a tambourine, that something interesting might happen. When Nashville's PAPER ROUTE took the stage, no such thing happened. Almost immediately SPARKLY turned to me and said, "They're trying to be Coldplay." A good comparison, except they don't possess that particular element of interest that makes me have to admit to my punk colleagues that I like Coldplay. The music was monotonous paired with lyrics attempting to be insightful, but carried the full weight of someone proud of their junior college certificate in creative writing. The mild attempts at stage antics also failed to provide interest. Sparkly commented that "the drummer isn't bad," but als0 added that she wished that he would stay seated. Standing, hmmm? Good gimmick. Oh wait. I can stand too. Check it out, I'm typing and standing.
PAPER ROUTE D+
LIGHTS came out on stage to the chants of "LIGHTS! LIGHTS! LIGHTS!" She wasted no time setting the tone for the evening- an evening of electronic warm fuzzies. I have to admit that I found myself gleefully tapping my toes to her compositions and she did a great job minimizing the size of the Marquee Theatre into the atmosphere of an intimate club. That hit a bump when LIGHTS commented, "you guys are in the desert but you still give me chills." When the song "February Air" was performed my companion and I cringed at the lyrical content. We joked as she sang; "my arms get cold in February air" that maybe she should put on a sweater.
"That would make it a 5 second song."
"Good."
Much of the set continued on in a manner of making me want to continue cringing, but also enticing me with the undeniably good beats. I don't know if it's intentional or not, but the juxtaposition of this tension was very intriguing. Pop culture awareness mixed with artistic deviations made me think of Andy Warhol 0r a very happy Fiona Apple.
Her performance of "Ice" made me smile with its nods to my new wave childhood. Then her set made a gradual movement to being more introspective. The last songs of her set allowed her to showcase her vocal skill and range, breaking away from the pop cuteness early in her set.
Her performance was the bright shimmer of the evening, leaving me curious to see what direction she will take in the future? Will she cater to the prepubescent masses or mature her craft into the artistic musician that she seems more than capable of being.
LIGHTS B+ www.myspace.com/lights
Then came OWL CITY. First, let me say, that I was excited to see Owl City. I liked his hit "Fireflies." I wanted to see what else he had to offer. My opinion has changed. The show started off with what can only be compared to a strip club light show. It was preceded by a set of several songs that all sounded the same and were laden with sugary sweet melodies and nonsensical lyrics constrained in weak forced ryhmes, "If you're the bird, whenever we pretend it's summer, then I am the worm, I know the part, it's such a bummer." His performance reminded me of a parent trying to adlib lullabies. Visually the change between keyboard, acoustic guitar and electric guitar showed an effort to differentiate the songs, but aurally it all sounded the same. At one point it was announced, "We're going to do a kinda silly song." My thought was, "as opposed to what?" "Dental Care" turned out to be the best song of the night, only for the fact that it actually sounded different than anything else being performed. Then "Fireflies" was performed. I was of the thought that "Fireflies" was a cute, quirky song, but now having experienced it in a fuller context, I know realize that it's just another crappy song smeared in the Owl City catalog. Then the lights went down as a self-indulgent tribute to the Challenger space shuttle played, we decided we had enough, and the vocals had become increasingly grating, so we left. The performance left me to believe, that Owl City is nothing more than a child with a stage and lots of toys. The performance was suited for the prepubescent audience and if there was a pony and a clown would have been a great birthday party show for a 6 year old. Although, the six year old leaving early was equally unimpressed by the immature show.
OWL CITY F
-Derrick
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