Jonas Brothers Show Fans Their Edgier Side At The Gibson Ampitheater

By HTS Staff on August 18, 2013

(Photos courtesy of Nella of Jonas Music France)

The Jonas Brothers ended their summer tour this past Friday (August 16) at the Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles. After a three year hiatus as the Jonas Brothers, the trio came back and showed an older, edgier version of themselves, suited for both their pre-teen era fans and their of-age admirers.

The Jonas Brothers, having started with Disney, have always teetered between boy band and just a band of guys. While, yes, the band has always had catchy pop hits, the brothers proved to be real musicians with their songwriting, instrument playing, and lack of choreographed dance moves. The batch of new songs only further proved they are more than just a pop boy band.

As the lights turned off to indicate that the brothers were about to hit the stage shrieks of girls in their teens and early twenties filled the room. There were more guys and less parents than in 2008, what seemed to be the peak of JoBro fandom, but the volume in the room was closely reminiscent of that era. Nick Jonas, 20, appeared on stage with a guitar, and screams intensified as the audience realized that Joe, 24, and Kevin, 25, were running through the aisles to make their way to the stage. The brothers opened with their latest single “First Time,” from their soon to be released album “V.” The fans adoration was clear, as they sang along to every word, and continued to do so throughout the set.

The show consisted of a good mix of songs from all four of their released albums, and new songs from their soon to be released album. The brothers did an impressive cover of Frank Ocean’s “Thinkin About You.” At one point, Nick told the crowd they had received “a lot of requests” for a song only fans from the beginning would know, “Take a Breath.” But the band also performed fan favorite, “Burning Up,” which featured a skyped in rap from Big Rob.

The set also included songs from Nick and Joe’s solo ventures. The song “Stay,” which Nick wrote with his band Nick Jonas & the Administration, provided lots of squeals from girls (and women) as he showed off his perfected falsettos (and his muscular arms with tattoos as he took off his jacket).

The new songs showcased a more mature Jonas Brothers. Perhaps their departure from Hollywood Records allowed them more freedom, or perhaps the trio have simply grown up? One thing was certain: The Jonas Brothers seemed more confident, and perhaps more free in their performance and their chance to experiment. Their last album, “Lines,

Vines, and Trying Times,” had some songs which seemed to experiment with others genres, like jazz and country, but the new songs from “V” continued the experimentation forward. Their song “Found” had a jazz-style influence with trumpets and a piano. But the most impressive of the new songs was one titled “What do I Mean to You?” which had a harder, edgier, rock sound, which I previously thought would be impossible to associate with any Jonas Brothers song.

In the past, the Jonas Brothers have used elaborate stage set-ups with lights, costume changes, fire, confetti, lights, and whatever else, to put on an entertaining show. This time around, the band relied on their large catalog of songs, a simple stage set-up where they had to rely solely on the music to put on a good show. They managed to do so. The three brothers stood center stage, with their large backing band standing behind, and that was more than enough for the crowd to maintain their fervor throughout their lengthy set. As the boys ended the show with their encore of “Love Bug” and “SOS,” they alluded to the fact that they would be back on tour in October. Perhaps we should expect an album to be released around the same time?

Set List:
1. First Time
2. Paranoid
3. Pom Poms
4. World War III
5. Found
6. Thinkin About You (Frank Ocean cover)
7. Who I Am

8. That’s Just the Way We Roll
9. Play My Music
10. Gotta Find You
11. The World
12. A Little Bit Longer
13. Take a Breath/ Fly With Me/ Hold On
14. Stay
15. Let’s Go
16. What Do I Mean To You?
17. See No More
18. Still in Love With You
19. Last Time Around
20. When You Look Me in the Eyes
21. Burning Up

Encore:
22. Love Bug
23. S.O.S

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