It’s a cool Chicago evening as we cruise to the Metro in a Honda. It seems very appropriate as this tour is sponsored by Honda. When corporations sponsor music events, it can at time get obnoxious, but for this show it was very tastefully done. It allowed for a large screen to be placed at the back of the stage which displayed Oh Honey as we entered. Throughout their set, they were very happy to be on stage and the audience who had arrived early were very pleased with their performance. They closed out their set with their very catchy hit, “Be Okay”. It feels true as they sing “What’s the point of dreaming when your life is great?”
During the set break, the screen plays music videos in high resolution of bands such as Grouplove and Neon Trees. They also throw in an ad for a Honda motorcycle, but it is in the style of a music video, so it blends in nicely. Then the screen displays “Mowgli’s” and the house lights go off. An official voice announces, “Honda Civic presents: The Mowgli’s”.
All seven members of the band come out and completely fill the stage as the audience cheers. They launch into their musical style of joyous rock and roll. The lead singer tells the crowd Chicago is one of their favorite cities, and we believe them. The guitarist on the left is even wearing a Scottie Pippen jersey, Bulls #33. With one song remaining, the band asks what song the crowd wants to hear. The band plays an extended while the lead singer says “The next song we will play is called… San Francisco!” The young crowd begins to jump as they close their set with their biggest hit to date.
After the stage is set for the next act, the entire Metro goes dark. We can just barely see the drummer take the stage. He bangs the drum twice and the screen blinks bright white with each slam knocking everyone back with the shock of such a bright light. This attack of light and sound continues as the rest of American Authors take the stage and begin their first song. Midway through their set, they cover Coldplay’s “Yellow”. It’s a bit of an uninspired cover, but they redeem themselves later with a great rendition of Sam Smith’s “Stay with Me”. During their entire set, they take full advantage of the screen including turning the venue into a disco during “Hit It”. To close out their set, they play “Best Day Of My Life” to everyone’s delight. We were surprised this wasn’t the final song of their encore and so we weren’t sure if they would return to the stage. However, they did return. They started their first encore song completely acoustic without microphones and amps. Halfway through the song they switched to full on sounds and the effect was quite impressive. They closed their set with “Oh, What A Life”, and we all agreed!
All in all, it was a fantastic show. With this as an example of corporate sponsored touring, the future is bright!
See the preview for this concert here.
PlaylistHQ 