It would be very simple to just say these three acts simply opened up for PARAMORE in Chicago at the Congress theater on August 12, 2008. And even though each of them only played a handful of songs, 5 to 6 each, I think they were almost mini-concerts – let me explain.
The three bands were Paper Route, Phantom Planet and Jack’s Mannequin. Before I get into their sound the reason I wrote each was like a mini-concert was that each act had its own light crew and sound crew that made them look and sound unique. While the stage didn’t change in any major way, each band looked different because of the lighting and stage props and the bands presence. Kudos to the stage manager for getting the crew together and making this 4 band show moving the show along to keep the fans pumped up for the next band.
So up first…
Paper Route – with playing only five songs to open the night, these guys, in my opinion, could have been the main act… if PARAMORE wasn’t on this tour I would have been content with rocking out with these guys all night long. What these guy had to accomplish as the opening act was a very easy task, get the fans into the auditorium and pump them up for the next act. I say easy because they didn’t do it as an opening band they did it as their own mini concert and sounded great doing it. The crowd got into the show within seconds of the first song being played, methodic, and powerful, energy encased songs drew us into their musical world with open arms and we were all there. I wrote down in my notes that American Clouds was my favorite song performed and just listened to it again off their webpage at www.paperrouteonline.com
Next up was…
Phantom Planet – these guys while a little darker musically for my tastes, did get the crowd on their side. From the LA music scene they have been playing for a few years and the song selection was more edgy, raw, and dark than Paper Route. Now just because it was a little on the line of love / hate for me, I took a look at the fans and by the second song the fans were on the side of Phantom Planet. I asked one of the fans next to me who appeared to be singing along with the song, and moving from LA this year, this was one of the bands that they came out to see because they saw them when they were back home. By the end of the 5 song set I was interested and thought that maybe I should listen to their CD and check them out further. You can check out Phantom Planet at www.phantomplanet.com
And just before PARAMORE…
Jack’s Mannequin – never hearing these guys before, sorry maybe I’m listening to the wrong XM Channels, I was a little surprised to learn they would be directly in front of PARAMORE. The raw energy that Jack’s opened up with blew me away. The grand piano was pretty interesting as I thought wow, having that as the main lead will be different, but again like Phantom Planet and Paper Route before, these guys brought it out like it was one of the last shows they would ever play, like they were going for gold. There wasn’t one part of these guys that I could say I didn’t like. The songs were fun, rocked the house and got the fans so pumped up that I felt the cement floor bouncing at one point. I loved these guys and can’t wait for the next cd release they have in September. You can check out more details at www.jacksmannequin.com as soon as it hits it will hit my collection.
So overall one these guys that opened up for PARAMORE they each had their own mini-concert with great sound, lights and stage presence it was awesome for me to be a part of. If I can use the Olympics and rank them… for me it would be a little tough but as in the Olympics I would rank them as…
Paper Route – Gold
Jack’s Mannequin – Silver
Phantom Planet – Bronze
All worthy of concerts as the main act and I look forward to seeing them and hearing them again soon. Check out their webpages and decide for yourself… who do you like for your collection?
Paper Route – www.paperroute.com
Phantom Planet – www.phantomplanet.com
Jack’s Mannequin – www.jacksmannequin.com
