Innovative rock and radio-fueled pop are rarely bedfellows. But last Wednesday night at the Saavis Center, these two distinct styles shared an audience when Lifehouse and Everclear opened for matchbox twenty.
Who emerged victorious from this duel between rock and pop? The fans of course, because the typical matchbox twenty addict wants something completely different than what an Everclear junkie craves.
Matchbox twenty’s set began with dollar signs twirling around the cavernous arena. They opened with “Crutch,” an atypically dark mood for the band.
Thomas’ marketed masculinity is the focal point of the band, from his sensual voice to his tight pants. Thomas was the only band member with star presence onstage; there was no prodigious drummer or lightening-fingered bassist.
The band performed a slew of hit singles from their first album, Yourself or Someone Like You including “Rainmaker,” “3 a.m.” and “Girl Like That.” Thomas didn’t venture far from the vocal lines he laid down on the albums. But hey, the kids in the audience had to be able to sing along!
Regardless of Thomas’ lack of ingenuity onstage, the accessibility of matchbox twenty has gained them a giant fan base. With the success of “Smooth,”-Thomas’ collaboration with Carlos Santana-matchbox twenty has arguably become the most overplayed band on the radio today. Therefore, you don’t have to be a devoted fan to know the lyrics to half a dozen of their songs. This phenomenon has brought matchbox twenty success, regardless song’s quality.
“Mad Season,” the title track from their new album, proved that Thomas can still write melodious songs, despite the melodrama of the current single, “If You’re Gone.” The best song from their set, however, was not Thomas’.
A solo acoustic cover of “Time After Time,” was the most simplistic and powerful moment of the evening for Thomas. His tremulous voice has the power to captivate with its nuances. Unfortunately, the glitz of matchbox twenty’s set made them look overdressed and upstaged by Everclear’s raw energy.
Everclear coaxed the audience into a spotted frenzy by playing hard and reaching into the makeshift moshpit for fuel. Lead singer and guitarist Art Alexakis acknowledged that the crowd was not predominantly Everclear fans. But by the end of their lamentably short set, Everclear had the audience’s attention, if not their devotion.
Alexakis began the set with what sounded like a toy banjo playing the opening riff to “Everything to Everyone” before the band exploded into the song. They continued by inviting people from the floor to dance on the stage during “Rock Star.”
Everclear continued to rock by playing radio favorites, like “AM Radio” and “Father of Mine,” with added power and emotion. Alexakis constantly interacted with the audience, grinning as he proclaimed, “and they said you couldn’t rock.” He called out for the fans to make noise, sing along and dance. He announced the names of lesser-known tunes like “Malevolent” to keep everyone up to speed.
“Heroin Girl” brought the Everclear fans back to 1995 with wry lyrics and layers of electric guitar. Alexakis and bassist Craig Montoya dueled during the solo, Montoya’s Kool-Aid-red hair flying as he played. Alexakis prepped the audience for “I Will Buy You a New Life” by explaining that the song isn’t about money; “it’s about what’s in your soul.” They finished with “Santa Monica,” leaving the audience hungry for a longer set but satisfied with the appetizers.
Lifehouse is a garage band at heart. They don’t want to abandon their angst, despite the success that sentimentalism has brought them. They saved their hit “Hanging by a Moment” for last, and it brought the floor to its feet for the first time of the evening.
The performance of this song exemplified the love/hate relationship between live rock and the radio, as Lifehouse quietly admitted that they couldn’t rock harder than radio play would let them.
