August 31, 2009Ashante Infantry
Pop & Jazz Critic
Every audience wants to believe it's unique and the Jonas Brothers, like most touring acts, did their darnedest to make last night's Rogers Centre crowd feel special.
They delivered the typical "we love coming here" shtick and lauded the "familiar and new faces" greeting them since they were in town for the MuchMusic Video Awards in June. But there was an authentic air of novelty when Kevin Jonas declared "this is the biggest crowd we have performed for on this tour," which concludes in Ottawa today.
It's true: Toronto loves them some Jo Bros at least 56,000 strong. And for the naysayers been chattering about the group's decline in popularity - their concert film only grossed a third of Miley Cyrus's, and the new TV show got off to slow start - that's the second-most concert tickets sold here this year. It's just behind U2 (estimated 58,000-60,000 for each of their two Sept. dates) and ahead of Coldplay (45,000).
Of course many of those seats belonged to chaperones of the 7-to-12-year-old girls who comprised the bulk of attendees.
However, the New Jersey trio of Nick, 16; Joe, 20 and Kevin, 21, dressed in shades of black and grey, put on a show with much more musical depth and maturity that fan base would augur.
There were a few neat party tricks - massive rotating in-the-round stage with a trampoline in the middle and runaways out into floor seats, a white piano that rose out of the floor, a smaller hydraulics-pumped stage - but no fancy choreography, multiple costume changes or fireworks.
Heralded by a tape of Queen's "We Will Rock You," the fellas rose up through the middle of the stage and launched the tasteful, music-focused 100-minute set with "Paranoid" from current disc Lines, Vines & Trying Times, followed by "That's the Way We Roll" and "Poison Ivy."
Not that you could actually hear the band, given the feverish fans who were either screaming or singing as loud as they could.
Those rock-star parents who shelled out $15.50-$95.50 for an end-of-summer treat should also have been entertained by the purity ring-wearing sibs.
For one thing, the ensemble's live sound is more rock 'n' roll than kiddie pop, plumped by a driving 10-piece band, including four horns and two violinists. Then, playing solo piano on "Black Keys," Kevin spun a moving tale about being diagnosed as diabetic four years ago and asking the doctor "Am I going to die?" The upshot of this was not to be defeated by challenges, which may come in handy as a teaching tool. And how about that cover of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline?"
Unexpected treats included the appearance by singer Demi Lovato for "This Is Me," and a bouncing version of the Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling." Nick, the crowd favourite, also played drums and guitar. Kevin concentrated on guitar and did most of the speaking, while somersaulting, microphone-jumping Joe was the most exuberant.
The Jonas Brothers are hard workers, churning out four albums in the past four years, with a massive, young following that's theirs to squander.
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