Fairview and Guests at Fitz's Spare Keys

You're probably looking at this title and thinking "I've never heard of them before..." and about two months ago, I'd be in the same boat. One of the band members found me on twitter and requested that I check out their new single. If you go to the 45s page, you'll see what my thoughts there. The important bit is that I enjoyed the song and the band was local. I decided to check them out in person next time they played a show in town and that led me to Fit's Spare Keys in Elmhurst on the first Saturday in September.

Typically, I'd do a full rundown of all the bands present, their history and style, and give a full review. But here's the thing about this show: it had a very family and friends, get back in the swing of things vibe to it. Fitz's Spare Keys is a bar / bowling alley / hangout that just happens to have a small stage in back. Now, that's not to say all of the acts didn't put on good performances. They definitely did. I didn't expect I'd enjoy a clarinet backing a guitar and vocals for the opening act (whose name I didn't get), but I actually did. The second act, a brother sister duo called Related Rhapsody, had vocals that reminded me of Shakira / Cher but with more light relaxing island feel to the music. Both of these duets were definitely enjoyable. The atmosphere just didn't have the typical concert feel I'm used to. Most of the audience stayed at their tables and continued chatting through the opening acts treating this like live music at pretty much any bar. And I suppose there's nothing wrong with that if you're there for the headliners, but from my perspective, I paid for a ticket so I'm going to try and focus on the bands on the stage. Even though I hid myself at a table in the corner, I still had a decent view and the person in charge of sound did a very good job of mixing volume. I'm glad I was able to hear and enjoy both of the openers because they got me in the mood to listen to the band I had come to see.

Fairview
Genre: light pop rock
Stage Presence: Confident and casual

Fairview is a 3 piece group in the style of Plain White Ts and early Taylor Swift. Not quite country, not quite rock or pop, but very easy to listen to. As they came to the stage, most of the audience vacated their tables and moved into the open area in front of the stage to listen. I enjoyed the songs they played, especially their single "Put It On" which I had enjoyed enough online to check them out live. They maintain their talents in person as well. Each of the band members appears to be musically talented in multiple forms. But the thing I was really impressed with was crowd control. Although this was a small audience that I felt was made of family and friends, Matt (vocals / guitar) did a great job of engaging the crowd and bringing them in to the performance while Lizzy (vocals / keyboard) handled a social media moment during the show. This is almost a requirement of any artist nowadays as fan bases grow via social media. I think it would translate to a more traditional venue / crowd as well. Overall, I was impressed with this young group. I think they've had some mentoring along the way that they've done a great job taking advantage of.

The second thing that I appreciate was the "fan service" before and after the show. For me, it all started with Becca (guitar) reaching out in promoting their new single. Even though it might not seem like a big deal, it's always a good habit for small bands to hang out and talk with the audience, whether they're family, friends, or fans. Eventually a band gets too popular to do this type of activity regularly, but the band should do this as long as they can. If the music stays solid, this is the activity that keeps fan coming back. Fans love when the band hears them out. Sure, it takes some extra time and effort, but I think it helps the band mature and maintain that direct connection and relatability to their audience.



Surprisingly, there was actually a merch table for Fairview at this show. A few posters, t-shirts and some pins were available for purchase. I like the idea of the "Put It On" shirt (of course I do, it has a turntable on it), but I would've only listed "Put It On" once and put the band name on the shirt somewhere (maybe on the record label). I feel that would give better recognition and advertising for the band. Even still, I'm impressed that they were willing to bring the items out and make them available at this smaller show. I've been to shows with bigger bands or at actual venues and they don't even bother to put things out. In fact, I saw a performance recently where the opening act had to apologize for not remembering to put anything out. It ultimately only hurts them when a fan can't buy something in the moment. So kudos to Fairview for thinking ahead and putting the effort in.

Ultimately, the next step is to decide whether or not to check out another Fairview show. They've got a few shows coming up. The first is in Cleveland on 10/21, but the next Chicagoland date is 10/28 at Hard Rock with Business as Usual. Tickets can be purchased here. I've heard decent things about Business as Usual and I'm tempted to see Fairview in a different venue setup. I'll have to decide if I want to fight my way into the city.

Bastille and Queen + Adam Lambert at Singapore Grand Prix Padang Stage

About seven months ago, a friend and I decided a vacation halfway around the world was in order. We agreed on Singapore as one of our stops after realizing the Singapore Grand Prix Formula 1 racing event would be taking place when we were looking to travel.  Shortly after we had booked flights and hotels and the trip was set in stone, they announced some of the off track performances that would take place race weekend. Saturday night was a night for British rock fans new and old as Bastille and Queen with Adam Lambert would take the stage.

A few things to note about me as a concert go-er are that I prefer smaller indoor venues, I don't have the best camera (I feel picture / video taking should be limited and performance enjoying should be maximized), and I'm 6'4" so it's very rare I don't have a good view. So please be tolerant of the lack of great photos since I was pretty far back and still managed to enjoy the show about the same.

Bastille

Genre: Indie Pop / Alternative Rock

Stage Presence: Fun, but a little reserved

For those who haven't found them yet, Bastille are a British indie pop / alternative rock group formed back in 2010. Their first album, "Bad Blood", featured the single "Pompeii" which really drove the band into the mainstream. Their second album, "Wild World" was released on September 9th, giving fans a few weeks to listen and love before seeing them in Singapore. Something to keep in mind, though, is that this was a performance at a Formula 1 racing event. Although I'm sure there were plenty of Bastille fans there (the crowd would confirm this), the music was intended to be secondary to on-track events.

This was my first time seeing Bastille live and it was a good introduction to what they could do in this type of setting. Their style translated fairly well into this larger setting, but some of the slower beats led me to believe it would be a better performance in a small, more club-like venue. They did a nice balance between songs from their first and second album which I think was a good decision given the relatively short amount of time between album release and concert date.

My main criticism of the performance is that I wish Dan, the lead singer, would've utilized the catwalk more. Maybe there was a reason he wasn't fully utilizing the stage (set-up for the Queen show later?) but I think it left the fans disappointed that he wouldn't get up close.

Queen + Adam Lambert

Genre: Classic Rock

Stage Presence: An involved sing-along

Okay, so let's get it out of the way early: Adam Lambert is just filling in for Freddy Mercury. And the rest of Queen didn't try and pretend any different. And that made this performance a really good one.

One of the downsides to being younger is that I never had the chance to see Queen complete. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy Queen in its current form. Made up of Adam Lambert, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and various touring members, this was a fun show for fans young and old. It's a chance to hear some of the classics and sing along with Adam Lambert leading on the vocals while Brian May shows he's still got it on guitar and Roger Taylor provides a beat to keep up with. Possibly my favorite part of the lineup was backup drummer Rufus Tiger Taylor, son of Roger Taylor and drummer for The Darkness. There was a great father-son drum duel about halfway through the set that had this really great connection as Roger Taylor led at the front of the catwalk and Rufus shadowed behind for those that recognized the relationship between those dueling.

The show was a solid 21 songs with a 3 song encore that was a good way to wrap up the second night of racing in Singapore. Seven Seas of Rhye was a perfect decision to open things up with energy as Adam Lambert began with a privacy shield covering his face only to reveal sunglasses underneath halfway through the song eliciting some laughs from the audience. You can find the whole setlist online, but the short version is that I don't feel we were missing anything. Two cool moments involved Love of My Life and Bohemian Rhapsody which involved recordings of Freddy performing on the screens. It gave Adam Lambert a break and the audience a small taste of something they want to hold on to. Additionally, closing out the main set with Radio Ga Ga gave the younger generation a chance to pretend they were at Wembley back in 1985. An encore of We Will Rock / We are the Champions satiated a need to hear crowd favorites played together and permitted one last sing-along before God Save the Queen with all of the active members coming forward, Brian May in a Flash Gordon t-shirt, to take a bow. A great show to fulfill the need to see a performance by a band that lost one of their core members too soon.

If you've been following along, one of the things you'll note is that I love to make a stop at the band merch table at the shows I go to, sometimes to buy and sometimes just to see what's available. One of the shortcomings of the Singapore Grand Prix was that it lacked a band merch tent. I understand that this is a Formula 1 event (which meant there were multiple F1 tents in each zone), but it would have been nice to see a tent for band merch near the main stage. With such great performers, you can be sure at least some of the fans were there for the show and not the race. This leaves those fans without the chance of taking home a souvenir beyond the photos and memories of a show they likely enjoyed.