| rev:text
| - 8/11/13
Treated BIL and two sisters to Under the Sun tour tonight. Five bands from the 90s: Fastball http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/time-warner-cable-uptown-amphitheatre-charlotte-charlotte?select=RfNj5ybfKpJJbWPb0Djjow#RfNj5ybfKpJJbWPb0Djjow, Vertical Horizon http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/time-warner-cable-uptown-amphitheatre-charlotte-charlotte?select=uu0AHwsRJNeJfqLjjmmmFA#uu0AHwsRJNeJfqLjjmmmFA, Gin Blossoms
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/time-warner-cable-uptown-amphitheatre-charlotte-charlotte?select=Z8xLBOjBZU9hbpfXpkL03g#Z8xLBOjBZU9hbpfXpkL03g, Sugar Ray (vocal Mark McGrath mentioned his vision of this lineup, so I assumed he organized it) http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/time-warner-cable-uptown-amphitheatre-charlotte-charlotte?select=Zevu6onkEoU7bds_0uY8hg#Zevu6onkEoU7bds_0uY8hg, and Smash Mouth. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/time-warner-cable-uptown-amphitheatre-charlotte-charlotte?select=uJKwrXZuZA9HI4KemHAYIA#uJKwrXZuZA9HI4KemHAYIA
We all agreed that Vertical Horizon, Gin Blossoms (!!), and Sugar Ray (!!) performed the best (great energy and stage presence), and Smash Mouth was a HUGE letdown. Lead singer Steve Harwell's vocal cords were shot-- the spoken bits of their songs sounded fine, but whenever he sang, his notes were all off-key. (I attributed it to heavy touring all summer long, but I see that the first show was on July 4th...?) It's a good thing most in attendance knew the words of "All Star" word-for-word (but not me!), because Harwell didn't even need to be present! He did a lot of walking from one end of the stage to the other, and holding his mike stand out over the audience during the number. Don't get me wrong, SM played good music, but after Vertical Horizon, Gin Blossoms, and Sugar Ray's sets, Smash Mouth's was very anti-climactic. I'd say the combo of the earlier bands' lively performances, Harwell's blown vocals, and the day's heat and humidity had drained us of energy by concert's end... It was fun to see and hear band members moonlight on other bands' sets-- very cool. (I enjoyed Fastball, but sisters and BIL weren't familiar with their songs, and so didn't care. I just wished Fastball had put more effort in showing that they were happy to be there.)
Should you attend a concert of this magnitude, I suggest you arrive early! Gin Blossoms' Robin Wilson invited everyone in attendance to move in closer to the stage by the second-half of their set, per amphitheatre's general director's discretion. Yep, lawn seat ticket-holders moved into seats that others had paid upwards of $80 or more... Two men almost duked it out two rows ahead of us-- guy and his date arrived late to claim their $75 seats, only to find lawn seat ticket holders standing their ground. Hey, I'd feel the same way if someone wouldn't give me the seats I'd paid for. (I paid $208, surcharges included, for four center row seats.) There were other open seats available, many closer to the stage... Ah, well.
Be sure to have your tickets with you should you need to use the restroom, or buy drinks at the concession stands, for you will need them to return to your seats. Correction: we needed them, until the invite was given for the audience to move in closer, and then security and ushers left their posts.
p.s. Compared to the Ak-Chin Pavilion (Phoenix, AZ; seats 20,000) I was at a few days before this event, this Charlotte arena is VERY SMALL (3,000 max capacity?; couldn't find much info online). Still a nice venue, and I wouldn't mind catching another concert here in the future.
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