Who: O.A.R.
When: January 29, 2014
Where: The Bird's Nest/ Phoenix, AZ
With: So very many middle-aged drunk men in PING hats
Of Note: Sometimes I think my life is weird.
So, whenever I travel for work I check to see who is playing in the area when I'm there. In this case, a week of campus visits in Phoenix, AZ meant that I got to see O.A.R.! As it turns out, the Phoenix Open was in town the week I was (which explains the pricey hotels), which is a big deal for golf? I don't know. And the concert that I got a ticket to was part of the Phoenix Open After Party - at a venue they erect just for that purpose called The Bird's Nest. Essentially, they build an elaborate tent/stage thing and surround it with another big old bar tent (the Dierks Bentley Whiskey Bar, if I recall correctly; apparently he's from Phoenix) and like a mini-festival ground. When I got there, there was a DJ who sounded like he would have been at home at Daily Planet, huge video screens projecting the accompanying music videos, and legit fly girls dancing in the bar tent and on stage. There were also approximately one bajillion very drunk middle aged men in PING hats and a whole lot of (also very drunk) over-grown frat bros. Awesome.
(I shot a text to Jenn that said, "I'm at an O.A.R. concert in a tent at a golf course in Phoenix, AZ. Sometimes I think my life is weird.")
At exactly 8pm (yay punctuality!), some local radio DJs came out to introduce O.A.R. I was confused as to how they were going to do the stage change so quickly - there was just a table and some DJ equipment on the stage at that time. But then! The coolest thing! The stage spun around and the band was there! It was like a giant rotating stage! I was super impressed.
Having seen O.A.R. a couple times before, I knew what to expect: essentially, a non-stop assault of happiness. They did not disappoint. The set was a great mix of old favorites - '3am', 'Black Rock', 'City on Down', their radio singles - 'Love and Memories' (which, oh man, is just about one of my favorite songs ever; I can't not hop around like a maniac when I hear it ever), 'Heaven', 'Shattered', and songs of their most recent and upcoming albums - most notably new song 'Peace'.
Some highlights:
The crowd here was bizarre. I feel like I needed a concert-goer checklist to complete or something because I saw it all: the crying girl, the drunk dancing dad, the dude-bro leaving to hurl, the cougars trying to get all up on that, the annoying girl spilling drinks on everyone, the "really into the concert" guy who sang every word, the "not at all into the concert guys" who barged up front and pissed everyone off, the making out couple, the making out old people... it was definitely an interesting cross-section of humanity.
As I mentioned above, 'Love and Memories' is one of those amazing, high energy, cannot help but jump around, makes me feel like everything is right with the world songs. Live, it's even more potent because you're in a crowd of people all screaming, "...Didn't you love faster than the devil?/ Run me straight into the ground..." and it's magic. This song also makes me think of the cinematic classic 'She's the Man'. Poor Amanda Bynes and her epic public meltdown.
I've decided that O.A.R. has the hardest working, best looking horn section in all of music (though Bruno Mars' half-time band would be a close second). Those three guys were all over it - wailing out amazing solos (and in some cases playing double duty guitar), providing back-up vocals, leading the crowd in sing and clap along sessions, plus just generally busting a groove. I'm possibly a little in love with the trombone player (call me!).
The last song they played prior to the encore was one off their yet-to-be-released album called 'Peace'. Guys? It's gorgeous. Like, made me get a little misty gorgeous. Marc's earnestness in singing "I just want to make you laugh/ I just want to see that smile"... it was a lot of emotion, you know? I hope that song does big things because it's so pretty and so very sweet.
They did the fun thing where they implied, "We're not going to leave the stage and make you work for the encore; we're going to play straight through because we have a firm cut off." Then a portion of the ASU marching band joined O.A.R. and I kind of lost my mind because - MARCHING BAND. I LOVE MARCHING BANDS!! Members of the percussion section joined the band on stage while the horn section packed into the pit in front of the stage. The two groups together played 'King' and 'Heaven' and it was pretty amazing - particularly when the marching band provided background for a pretty epic sax solo. That spectacle was one of those moments to savor because I'm not sure I'll ever get that again, you know?
And then, the show closed with 'Crazy Game of Poker' because that's what they do. Which - do you think they really hate that song now? I appreciate the commitment to their brand and the dedication to play their crowd-pleaser to close every single show but... they have to hate it just a little, right? Actually, no, probably not. They're such awesome guys that they probably revel in their ability to give that much joy at every show and remember where they've come from. Anyway, people threw decks of cards. Johnny doubled down. The crowd went insane. It was awesome.
Who knew you could have so much fun in a tent at a golf course?
When: January 29, 2014
Where: The Bird's Nest/ Phoenix, AZ
With: So very many middle-aged drunk men in PING hats
Of Note: Sometimes I think my life is weird.
So, whenever I travel for work I check to see who is playing in the area when I'm there. In this case, a week of campus visits in Phoenix, AZ meant that I got to see O.A.R.! As it turns out, the Phoenix Open was in town the week I was (which explains the pricey hotels), which is a big deal for golf? I don't know. And the concert that I got a ticket to was part of the Phoenix Open After Party - at a venue they erect just for that purpose called The Bird's Nest. Essentially, they build an elaborate tent/stage thing and surround it with another big old bar tent (the Dierks Bentley Whiskey Bar, if I recall correctly; apparently he's from Phoenix) and like a mini-festival ground. When I got there, there was a DJ who sounded like he would have been at home at Daily Planet, huge video screens projecting the accompanying music videos, and legit fly girls dancing in the bar tent and on stage. There were also approximately one bajillion very drunk middle aged men in PING hats and a whole lot of (also very drunk) over-grown frat bros. Awesome.
(I shot a text to Jenn that said, "I'm at an O.A.R. concert in a tent at a golf course in Phoenix, AZ. Sometimes I think my life is weird.")
At exactly 8pm (yay punctuality!), some local radio DJs came out to introduce O.A.R. I was confused as to how they were going to do the stage change so quickly - there was just a table and some DJ equipment on the stage at that time. But then! The coolest thing! The stage spun around and the band was there! It was like a giant rotating stage! I was super impressed.
Having seen O.A.R. a couple times before, I knew what to expect: essentially, a non-stop assault of happiness. They did not disappoint. The set was a great mix of old favorites - '3am', 'Black Rock', 'City on Down', their radio singles - 'Love and Memories' (which, oh man, is just about one of my favorite songs ever; I can't not hop around like a maniac when I hear it ever), 'Heaven', 'Shattered', and songs of their most recent and upcoming albums - most notably new song 'Peace'.
Some highlights:
The crowd here was bizarre. I feel like I needed a concert-goer checklist to complete or something because I saw it all: the crying girl, the drunk dancing dad, the dude-bro leaving to hurl, the cougars trying to get all up on that, the annoying girl spilling drinks on everyone, the "really into the concert" guy who sang every word, the "not at all into the concert guys" who barged up front and pissed everyone off, the making out couple, the making out old people... it was definitely an interesting cross-section of humanity.
As I mentioned above, 'Love and Memories' is one of those amazing, high energy, cannot help but jump around, makes me feel like everything is right with the world songs. Live, it's even more potent because you're in a crowd of people all screaming, "...Didn't you love faster than the devil?/ Run me straight into the ground..." and it's magic. This song also makes me think of the cinematic classic 'She's the Man'. Poor Amanda Bynes and her epic public meltdown.
I've decided that O.A.R. has the hardest working, best looking horn section in all of music (though Bruno Mars' half-time band would be a close second). Those three guys were all over it - wailing out amazing solos (and in some cases playing double duty guitar), providing back-up vocals, leading the crowd in sing and clap along sessions, plus just generally busting a groove. I'm possibly a little in love with the trombone player (call me!).
The last song they played prior to the encore was one off their yet-to-be-released album called 'Peace'. Guys? It's gorgeous. Like, made me get a little misty gorgeous. Marc's earnestness in singing "I just want to make you laugh/ I just want to see that smile"... it was a lot of emotion, you know? I hope that song does big things because it's so pretty and so very sweet.
They did the fun thing where they implied, "We're not going to leave the stage and make you work for the encore; we're going to play straight through because we have a firm cut off." Then a portion of the ASU marching band joined O.A.R. and I kind of lost my mind because - MARCHING BAND. I LOVE MARCHING BANDS!! Members of the percussion section joined the band on stage while the horn section packed into the pit in front of the stage. The two groups together played 'King' and 'Heaven' and it was pretty amazing - particularly when the marching band provided background for a pretty epic sax solo. That spectacle was one of those moments to savor because I'm not sure I'll ever get that again, you know?
And then, the show closed with 'Crazy Game of Poker' because that's what they do. Which - do you think they really hate that song now? I appreciate the commitment to their brand and the dedication to play their crowd-pleaser to close every single show but... they have to hate it just a little, right? Actually, no, probably not. They're such awesome guys that they probably revel in their ability to give that much joy at every show and remember where they've come from. Anyway, people threw decks of cards. Johnny doubled down. The crowd went insane. It was awesome.
Who knew you could have so much fun in a tent at a golf course?
Comments
Post a Comment