 January 17, 2006 - Going to where exactly... - January 14, 2006 - Indie vs. Commercial...which do you prefer? - January 01, 2006 - Happy New Year to Me...the kickass season shall commence - December 31, 2005 - Music and Movies of 2005 - December 30, 2005 - A new obsession - |
APHIE'S RANTS AND PIECES
December 28, 2005 - 8:56 p.m. - Rob Thomas Concert Review I never did put this review up here. It's from the Rob Thomas concert I attended. It's pretty long, so I shall only include the bit I thought was really funny, which sadly didn't happen at my concert, and then, my banter with the reporter. As the year draws to a close, I suppose it's only right I include the funny bits. The poignant bits which always seem to occur at the tail end. Central Floridian Rob Thomas was all over the map Tuesday night in a sold-out concert at Melbourne's King Center. The set list seemed disjointed at times because most songs came from Thomas' multiplatinum solo album, ..... Something to Be, a pastiche of different genres and approaches. Thomas was ably backed by seven charismatic musicians during a generous two-hour show. The sound mix at the King Center was dead on, with Thomas' emotional voice always perfectly understandable, rising above the instruments. Among the highlights from Something to Be were the title track, which he used as his opening number, and "Fallin' to Pieces," on which he didn't hold back on the song's loud, sustained opening notes.
Unlike a rock star, though, Thomas talked to the crowd like a friend, confessing he was a sub-par guitar player (in far more colorful language) and admitting he has a weak spot for a certain chord progression and relies on it in most of his songs. It takes a brave musician to admit there's a reason a lot of his songs sound the same. Thomas even made fun of his mopey, angst-filled writing style. "This next song is from a time when I tried a little experiment called 'being happy,'." he said to introduce "The Difference," explaining he was caught off guard when happiness "smacked me in the face." "What do you do with that when you're trying to make an entire career on being miserable all the time?" he asked with a smile. The varied music sometimes sabotaged the concert's pace: The crowd would get revved up with a rock 'n' roll number, only to get an acoustic ballad next. Thomas' most recent chart-topper, "Lonely No More" was buried in the concert's middle, the momentum it built squandered. But the show closed on a rousing high note with Thomas' current radio single, a rocking rendition of "This Is How a Heart Breaks." Matthew J. Palm can be reached at 407-420-5038 or mpalm@orlandosentinel.com. My Letter: Hello, I just wanted to extend a word to you following your review of the Rob Thomas concert. I saw him, at the Tabernacle in Atlanta on the 24th of October, and overall it was a good show. His voice was amazing, and sung every note in tune. However, everything you pointed out in your article was right: it lasted 2 hours which I thought was quite generous since most concerts last about 90 minutes. The pace was poor, and I noticed that because we went through periods of screaming and dancing and then, suddenly the entire house would be down and somber. This was worse at the Tabernacle since it was standing room only. He performed "Lonely No More" grudgingly because as he aptly pointed out, "he is sick of hearing it." And there were a few covers that seemed so out of place and their elimination would cut the show down into a nice tight set. Since the 24th I have scouted round for reviews, that would hopefully air my feelings on the concert, and yours did. So you can understand my excitement when I read your words. Nice writing and a very amusing article especially the part about the choice words! His Response: Hi, and thanks for writing -- back track - fast forward - history aphie's chronicles - aphie's transcripts aphie's other personality - aphie's diary rings tell aphie you read her work - 
|