Rock ‘n’ Roll Wish List
KJEE’s Winter RoundUp, with Timmy Curran, 30 Seconds to Mars,
Angels and Airwaves, and Jet. At the Arlington Theatre, Monday,
December 11.
Reviewed by Levi Michaels
For KJEE fans accustomed to the Summer
RoundUp at the Bowl, perhaps the Arlington Theatre seemed a strange
place for a rock show. Until, of course, Angels and Airwaves, 30
Seconds to Mars, and Jet took the stage and shook hands with the
theatrical side of rock.
Following a warm-up set by local favorite Timmy Curran, Los
Angeles alt-rockers 30 Seconds to Mars earned the curiosity of the
crowd by taking the stage to the symphonic score of Star Wars
Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, “Duel of the Fates.” But with
Hollywood actor Jared Leto at the helm, the theatrics were less
than surprising, and the set—mostly songs from the band’s most
recent album A Beautiful Lie—proved truly kinetic.
Next up was Angels and Airwaves, whose epic alt-rock took the
theatrics to new heights. Comprised of former Blink-182 frontman
Tom DeLonge and the former instrumentalists of Box Car Racer,
Angels and Airwaves debuted on the scene in May with We Don’t Need
to Whisper. Sounding that epic through headphones, you’re bound to
set the bar pretty high for yourself onstage, but these guys seemed
to manage. DeLonge led the crowd through the best the album has to
offer, including “The Adventure,” “Distraction,” and “Valkyrie
Missile.” Between songs, DeLonge paused intermittently to talk to
the crowd, often sounding more like a visionary than a rocker. The
quartet left the crowd with a lecture on being themselves, then
took off.
Finishing off the night was Australian-natives Oasis … er, I
mean, Jet. Showmanship and theatrical ability are all well and
good, but at the end of the day, good classic rock is what takes
home the prize. Fortunately, Jet had both. The singles seemed to be
enough to get the crowd moving, including “Rollover D.J.,” “Cold
Hard Bitch,” and “Are You Gonna Be My Girl.” Pushing 11 p.m., the
crowd was a bit enervated, and by the time Jet closed with “Get Me
Outta Here,” the audience seemed to be thinking the same thing.
Regardless, KJEE has earned a place on Santa’s “nice” list by
bringing some much-needed noise to town. Please, for our sake, keep
up the good work.