It was only 16 months ago that AJR performed at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center, so maybe it wasn’t surprising that parts of Saturday night’s show at PNC Music Pavilion felt a little familiar.
After the second song, singer Jack Met talked his bandmate brother, keyboardist Ryan Met, and how he always gets a louder applause during introductions. While that all sounded like a repeat of last year’s banter, this time around it was followed by some audience participation involving an embarrassing photo of Ryan in the shower.
Outside of that, there were going to be obvious overlaps in the setlists as AJR was, of course, set to play plenty of their hits and favorites.
The band always goes above and beyond with visuals as Jack interacts with a large video screen at the back of the stage, giving a video version of himself a high-five or blowing a smoke cannon to fill up the screen’s entirety.
The night even started with a visual gag about how much money they spend on special effects. It all makes for a visually entertaining set that acts as the perfect accompaniment to their pop songs.
Two unique moments in the night came first, when the band made their way into the crowd to perform a couple of songs, including “World’s Smallest Violin.” They didn’t play from a small stage, instead opting to sit in some of the amphitheater’s blue seats while playing.
The second was when the Ardrey Kell High School Marching Band took to the stage and aisles to help perform the night’s encore, “Weak.”
There’s no telling when the band might return to the Queen City, but each time out they continue to raise the bar for entertaining performances. AJR has a few more northern stops on its tour before playing three state fairs in the lead-up to their Hollywood Bowl show in October.
AJR Setlist
Way Less Sad
Karma
Yes I’m a Mess
The Good Part
Betty
100 Bad Days
Burn the House Down
Bang!
Inertia
World’s Smallest Violin
Wow, I’m not Crazy
Come Hang Out/I’m Not Famous/I’m Ready/Break My Face/Finale
Steve’s Going to London
Sober Up
Encore
Weak
Be sure to check out Queen City Nerve’s Soundwave, Charlotte’s most comprehensive live music listing, so you don’t miss out on any shows or concerts coming up. And hell, if you’re looking for something else to do, you can check out our events page as well, which runs the gamut of things to do in Charlotte. You don’t ever have to be bored again. You can check out more of Jeff’s pics and live reviews here.
