Lifehouse with Fiction Plane at the Majestic Ventura Theater, 06/19/03Jun 29 '03 (Updated Jul 01 '03) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Lifehouse played it straight for the most part... see them if you like their albums, not just their radio hits. Fiction Plane might just be a better live band overall. Date: Thursday, June 19, 2003 Performers: Lifehouse with Fiction Plane Venue: The Majestic Ventura Theater, Ventura, CA Ticket Price: $16 (General Admission) “Are you sure you’re crazy enough to drive all the way out to Ventura to see them?” My friend’s response was an empathic yes. I tell ya, it’s great to have concert buddies who are as dedicated to the whole thing as you are. This particular buddy had been asking me when Lifehouse was going to be playing a show in the Los Angeles area ever since Stanley Climbfall released last fall. At the time, the band was busy gallivanting around Europe (perhaps because fans over there hadn’t been so inundated with their first big hit that they found themselves put off by all future singles from the band that received lukewarm reception on American radio). I took for granted that they’d be back in L.A. soon enough, given that the guys are from Malibu and all, but man, they sure made us wait a while for this one! Wouldn’t Change a Thing Of course, when Lifehouse finally set up a gig at the Anaheim House of Blues in late June 2003, my friend and I had to go and be lazy about it and not order our tickets on time. This left her and me (and my girlfriend, who has been enjoying the grand tour of some of my favorite rock bands even though she’s relatively unfamiliar with the music) to plot and scheme about a way to get ourselves to the next closest show, which was in Ventura, a good hour’s drive away. On a weekday. Anyone who has ever lived in the greater Los Angeles area could tell you that this could easily take two hours if you don’t depart ridiculously early. Fortunately, we managed to secure our tickets and take off in the middle of the afternoon (when most people with day jobs aren’t on the road because they’re trying to wake themselves up from their post-lunch comas), and once we passed the usual snarled traffic around North Hollywood and the 405 Freeway, the 101 was good to us. We arrived in beautiful downtown Ventura with a few hours to spare – this was in actuality an easier commute than trekking to Anaheim would have been the following Monday. As a concert venue, the Majestic Ventura Theater was definitely an excellent choice. (We’ll ignore the fact that its name reminds me of two Jim Carrey movies.) The floor was laid out in three levels (the bar area, the pit, and a railed-off area in between where we stood so that we’d be able to see over the heads bobbing around in the pit), plus a balcony, which allowed for maximum visibility regardless of concertgoers’ preferences about how close to the action they wanted to be. Didn’t see a lot of action going on at the bar (the audience appeared to mostly be a good-natured, “They will know we are Christians by our T-shirts” type of crowd), but I could tell that it would be a nice place to sit and sip a drink with someone special during a mellower show. Some other time, perhaps. This was a rock show, and I was glad to have such a great view of the stage. Every move you make, every show you play, we'll be watching you... I was highly amused when I found out that the opening band would be Fiction Plane. We had just been introduced to the band 6 days prior at a Switchfoot show, and after being impressed with that performance, I had taken a little time to familiarize myself with a few of their songs. This made their set even more enjoyable the second time around, even though I’m pretty sure it was the exact same list of songs, starting with the radio-friendly title track “Everything Will Never Be OK” and ending up with “Wise”. I noticed a few things this time, like how “Hate” had an extended acoustic intro that didn’t appear on the CD, or how the “long song” I remembered from the last show was actually a slick transition between “Listen to my Babe” and a yet-unrecorded song entitled “Beautiful Face”, or how the few swear words in the you-only-want-me-because-I’m-a-celebrity’s-son tirade “Cigarette” came across loud and clear, even though I think you would’ve had to know what was coming to really catch that. The band seemed very comfortable in their surroundings – lead singer Joe Sumner was even seen walking around outside the venue while we were all waiting in line, and they remarked a few times about how we were way better than their San Diego crowd had been. The crowd seemed to receive the band warmly, and they definitely set the place on fire when they decided to “bring the metal” with their closing song. I didn’t mind the déjà vu attack one bit – their live sound was clean and crisp without compromising in the loudness department, and it only made me wish that their CD (my jury’s still hung on that one) was a little clearer in the production department. I can definitely say that they're welcome to come back and open for any other bands that I like... though if I see them again real soon, I might think they're stalking me like that guy in that old Sting song... Set List: Everything Will Never Be OK Cigarette I Wish I Would Die Hate Real Real Listen to My Babe Beautiful Face Wise Quiet, the sound you know so well… After a reasonably long intermission, the members of Lifehouse took the stage. It was a rather unassuming entrace - a local radio DJ introduced them, and they just picked up their instruments and launched into an unrecognizable intro during which Jason Wade kept singing “I’m falling” over and over. This built up until it abruptly burst into the mellow, whimsical first notes of “Stanley Climbfall”. It made for an odd start if I’d ever seen one, and I don’t think the audience was quite sure what to expect after that. Near the end of the song, the band made a lightning-fast transition into their recent hit “Spin”, which rocked every bit as much as it did on their CD - the song was played exactly like the album version, down to every single measure of the “jam session” at the end of the song. I had heard that the band was known for extending a few songs into live jams, but as the band progressed from there into the light, bouncy “Sky Is Falling” and the slower, heavier “Anchor”, it became clear that there wouldn’t be room for much other than faithful renditions of the recordings in this particular set. It wouldn’t be entirely fair to say that the live show sounded exactly like the album. New guitarist Sean Woolstenhume (formerly of The Calling) added a lot to the band’s sound by eking some interesting sounds out of his guitar during the intros to “Wash” and the unexpected older tune “Quasimodo”. I was really excited to hear those songs, but I felt like an idiot cheering for them as loudly as I did, because most people’s applause seemed to be driven by polite patience. They seemed genuinely relieved when Jason and co. pulled out “Sick Cycle Carousel”, the first of a few highlights from No Name Face that would be played that night. But the excitement just wasn’t there when they pulled off a slick transition from the end of “Carousel” into the newer song “Am I Ever Gonna Find Out”, nor did many people seem excited by one of my personal favorites, “Just Another Name”. I guess none of this would have been a surprise if this were a festival and there were a bunch of fans of other bands who had a marginal interest in hearing Lifehouse play “Hanging by a Moment” live, but it was honestly disappointing when these people had supposedly shown up specifically for Lifehouse. I wanted to tap a few of these people on the shoulders and ask them if they’d actually bothered to listen to Stanley Climbfall more than once. How could I stand here with you, and not be moved by you? Thankfully, a solid block of songs from No Name Face were up next - basically the final four in a slightly altered order. “Breathing” sounded wonderful with Jason on the acoustic guitar, and he took a moment to let us know that this was a special occasion, since that song wasn’t part of their normal setlist for the tour. Good to know - it’s taken a long time, but I can finally say that “Breathing” has become one of my favorites, and I regret not appreciating it more when it was in its prime. The acoustic guitar remained at the forefront for a heartfelt rendition of “Somewhere in Between” - another song I once overlooked but now appreciate immensely. After that came a return to the electric for the aforementioned “Quasimodo” (led off by some funky improvisation from Sean and bass player Sergio Andrade), which gave the band a good chance to rock hard while playing a song that the fans seemed to be more familiar with. Of course, no Lifehouse show would be complete without the delicate ballad “Everything”, which followed next. It’s good to see that I’m not the only one by any means who has connected with Jason’s reverent lyrics in that song - there were several raised hands, closed eyes, and gently moving lips, making for the most worshipful moment I‘ve experienced at a so-called “mainstream” concert ever since I went to see Creed almost three years ago. The band played it with passion, especially during the middle section where the song kicks into high gear and Jason wails “You’re all I want, you’re all I need, everything, everything…” over and over. Surprisingly, they didn’t play the song all the way to its soft ending, choosing instead to bring it to a climactic resolution during its louder section. From there, he took a moment to introduce their latest single “Take Me Away“, which made for a nice follow-up to everything, even though I had kind of been hoping for more of a smooth transition between the two songs than a full-stop and a quick plug for their latest hit-bound song. People seemed to recognize it and enjoy it - it seems the radio station out that way has been a little kinder to Lifehouse than the snobby stations in L.A., who don’t even seem to realize that they even have a new album out. The band thanked us and left the stage at this point… duh, of course we knew they’d be back. I was just hoping they’d be back for more than one song! Somebody Else’s Song My intuition was correct, and the band managed to surpass my expectations with a three-song encore. Interestingly, they chose to get things started again with a cover song, which Jason introduced as being one of the band’s favorites. I didn’t really recognize the gently bouncing number at first - I could tell that it had a slightly goofy chord sequence to it, and an awfully familiar sliding guitar riff, giving it a whimsical but sexy atmosphere. Some of the fans seemed to recognize it. I later looked up a few setlists from other shows and found out that it was the song “Something” by George Harrison. An appropriate tribute to a recently deceased rock hero, I guess. The band then surprised me again with another old song - this time it was one that Jason had written and recorded back when the band was still known as Blyss. Astute fans were clued in as to which song it might be when Jason invited fellow Malibu native Kendall Payne out on stage to sing “Trying” with him. I was a bit surprised to see her - she looked a little different than when I had seen her open for Delirious? a few years ago. I realized that she was the same red-headed girl that we had spotted walking around with Joe Sumner before the show! Anyway, her vocals didn’t stand out much during the song, most likely due to the band drowning her out (the instruments were kind of muddled together throughout most of the show), but the principle of the whole thing was cool, since I love it when a band can record a song with a guest artist and then give that guest artist a call when they’re In the are and ask them to sing/play their part in a live setting. The song had the same melancholy beauty that it does on the album version - the only things missing were the strings (which Jason and Sean covered for on their guitars) and the lovely piano outro. Nothing else to lose, nothing else to find I guess I could say that all of the excitement that overcame the crowd when the “moment” that they had all been waiting for finally arrived was justified. It makes for a great closing song, being one of the most upbeat songs the band has recorded, and its universally relatable lyrics about being suspended in the gaze of a loving being (human or spiritual, take your pick) make a great top-of-your-lungs sing-along. It was nice to see that Jason still had the vocal power to plow through this one without missing a note (I’ve heard him sing acoustic versions where he has to drop down an octave to get all the way through). It was a totally predictable ending to the show, and perhaps I’m a bit miffed that it was all some fans seemed to care about (hey, it’s my favorite Lifehouse song too, but they have so much more to offer!), but I couldn’t help but be pumped up by it. It was a much-needed final dose of stress relief after a busy day. Well, I haven’t memorized all of the cute things to say… I wish I had more to say about this show than simply, “They played this song and it sounded like the album. Then they played this song and it also sounded like the album, except with a cool intro”, and so forth. I enjoyed the songs, simply because it was great to hear such an extensive list from the new album (though “The Beginning” would have been a nice bonus), but I’ll be honest, there wasn’t much improvisation or stage banter here. That was good in the sense that there weren't any long spiels that took up space that could have been filled by another song, and there weren’t any reinterpretations of old songs that were so frustratingly different that they weren’t enjoyable at all - but there also weren’t any tasty quotes from Jason (well, other than his commenting on how we were better than the San Diego audience - sounds like that was a tough crowd!), or extremely memorable musical moments that would make me tell people, “Oh my gosh you have to go see Lifehouse, they’re such an awesome live band!” I guess the band is still overcoming their shyness, but I can tell some critics are gonna deride them for a lack of stage presence. The album Stanley Climbfall was presented as a much closer representation of the band’s live sound, and I can definitely say it’s true, especially with the welcome punch that drummer Rick Woolstenhume adds to many of the songs. His brother Sean, who didn’t play on the album, manages to complete the band’s wall of sound (since obviously Jason can’t play two guitars at once, and he’s better off sticking to rhythm instead of lead). But there are moments when the other guys drown Jason out, and when he even sounds a tad flat, so I guess they still have a few elements of their live show to fine-tune. It’s safe to say that you’ll enjoy the band’s live show if you enjoyed both of the albums. But other than that, you can probably skip it without feeling too guilty about it. And please don’t show up if “Hanging by a Moment” is all you’ve heard and all you care to hear. Those aren’t the kind of fans a band like this needs. Maybe one day they’ll get smart and start playing it first just so the fair-weather fans can leave early and make it back to the mall before it closes. As for me and my concert buddies, we still considered it worth the drive. Set List: Stanley Climbfall Spin Sky Is Falling Anchor Wash Sick Cycle Carousel Am I Ever Gonna Find Out Just Another Name Breathing Somewhere in Between Quasimodo Everything Take Me Away Encore: Something (George Harrison cover) Trying (with Kendall Payne) Hanging by a Moment My Ratings: Lifehouse: 3.5 stars Fiction Plane: 4.5 stars Show overall: 4 stars Band Members: Jason Wade: Lead vocals, acoustic and electric guitar Sergio Andrade: Bass Rick Woolstenhume: Drums Sean Woolstenhume: Lead guitar Websites: http://www.lifehousemusic.com http://www.fictionplane.com  |
| Read all comments (1)|Write your own comment |
