Jukebox The Ghost Live Review and Concert Photos | Crowbar, Tampa, Fl | Monday, February 1, 2016

by • February 25, 2016

All was quiet on the streets of Ybor City on Monday night. The historic area was much tamer than what can be witnessed on the weekends– maybe it was due to the arrival of Jukebox the Ghost that the streets were so different.

If you walked around the corner off the main drag and into the dark music venue known as the Crowbar, you would have found the reason you decided to not just stay home and re-watch the entire series of Parks and Rec.

Instead of using dramatic entrance music, Jukebox the Ghost walked onto the stage to a version of Woodie Guthrie’s, “This Land Is Your Land.” This was the perfect foreshadowing of the vibe their set would instill. We are all here together and let’s enjoy the great company and music while living in the now.

 

With a perfect mixture of songs from their albums, the set was filled with the quirkiness of their earlier work such as “Static to the Heart.” Undeniably catchy pop tunes like “Hollywood,” from their most recent, self titled album were a big hit. The band’s drummer, Jesse Kristin, took center stage and some of the spotlight, by awkwardly singing the intro to the song as he does on the album. The band also treated the crowd to their cover of “Pressure,” by Queen and David Bowie.

One of the most interesting moments in my concert-going career is when they brought out the “Wheel of Tour-ture.” In the style of Wheel of Fortune, the band spun the wheel and whatever song it landed on, they had to play. However, one of the spots included their crowd favorite song “Hold It In,” but with the word supreme.

When the wheel landed on the song, they all switched instruments and attempted to play the song. Jukebox the Ghost admitted to never getting through the breakdown. When they played the song, it was the most horrendous and amazingly funny things I have ever seen a band do live. We found out why they never make it through the breakdown; it’s because drummer Jesse was playing guitar and had a solo that he botched that was like a beautiful car crash. This moment received the biggest crowd applause from the night.

Piano player and singer Ben Thornewill revealed earlier in the night that he had a cold and apologized for any lackluster performance out of him. A couple songs later, guitar player and singer, Tommy Siegel complained that it isn’t fair for Ben to have such an amazing voice while being sick.

Tommy was right, but the true test came when the song “Undeniable You” came up on their set list. The song features Ben, alone at the piano and a loop station on his microphone. If his voice gave way due to his cold, the loop station would have caught it and could have ruined the song. I have to say that if Ben didn’t even tell us he was sick, we wouldn’t have known. He sounded better than most singers do live. This song was by far the most appropriate use of a loop station I have ever heard. His transitions were smooth and there wasn’t too much noise from the effect to drown out his perfect vocal performance.

JukeboxTheGhost Live 3

The night ended in a fashion that everyone in attendance knew was a very special moment and unique to our show or at least to very few shows. Crowbar has a dirty old piano, surprisingly only slightly out of tune, in the back of the venue. The band leapt off stage and played an acoustic version of the song, “The Spiritual” with the crowd circling around them like a campfire sing-along, only the band was the fire and they were warming our hearts. *Awww*

Opener Goodnight Neverland showed their promise. Fresh off his short run on “American Idol,” front man Kerry Courtney treated everyone to his voice that many people have described as “hauntingly beautiful.” The band’s dark and mellow, indie-rock style echoed through the room and quickly won much of the crowd over. There is a good reason why they are a band to follow.

Local band Row Jomah set the mood with their fusion of various genres. A style with a hint of the band Phish, Row Jomah showed immense musical talent with interesting arrangements and spot on beat stops. Though their music style didn’t quite blend in with the rest of the bands, it was nice to see that as their set went on; the crowd couldn’t help but show their appreciation to how talented they really are.

Jukebox the Ghost is a prime example that shows people really do care about piano-rock. With the band looking at self-releasing their next album, it is shocking that record labels that focus on alternative rock aren’t fighting to the death for this band. With the right money behind them, these three musicians from Washington D.C. could make a much bigger mark in the music industry.

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Jukebox the Ghost Concert Photos and Live Review by S.T. Register.


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