Hello, Beautiful Australia, That’s Just the Way We Roll to Hollywood. [Canon]

Greetings, Revelers!

I’m still buzzing from the JONAS premiere, so felt moved to continue my look back at a great Jonas Brothers performance.  As the guys take a new direction in their career, that of television series, it’s enlightening and exciting to look back to analyze some of the performances that brought them here.

There is more to be said about the Bonus Jonas Edition DVD.  I’ll begin the discussion where I left off in my previous “Canon” post.

Discussion after the jump!

[A/N: I apologize for the comparatively poor quality of these Youtube videos.  They were all I could find.  By all means watch the actual DVD if you can.]

After the passion and exuberance of “Goodnight and Goodbye,” the guys wisely slowed things down a bit, and put “Hello Beautiful” into the next slot on the set list.  This song is a personal favorite of mine, and this performance was spare, tender, and beautiful.  Kevin led us into the moment, with patter about how dressed up everyone was for this occasion.  He confessed that this was his favorite part of the show, because they “get some romantic on ya’”.  My old ticker fluttered a bit, I can only imagine the palpitations of the lucky ladies actually present that night.

Nick began vamping the intro on his acoustic guitar, with Kevin joining after switching out his electric guitar for acoustic and finishing his drink of water. The brothers were the only two playing on stage; the band took a break during this song. Nick began singing the verse in his inimitable style. Joe soared in on the chorus, and you could almost feel everyone present bask in the warmth of his voice. The assignment of parts in this song was perfect for Nick and Joe. Nick’s voice might have been created to yearn, and he did so wonderfully in the verses here. And Joe’s rich voice rescued our separated lovers and made everything all right in the chorus.

Everything worked in this performance:  the several shots of Nick and Kevin playing with such love and restraint, Nick’s old soul, Joe being the epitome of dreamy.  Kevin blew a kiss that you could practically hear smolder, Nick serenaded his lady like a troubadour, and when Joe cupped his hands around the microphone, it seemed as if he was caressing her face.  Some romantic, indeed!

As the thunderous applause died away, Joe and Kevin each introduced themselves.  Joe thanked the audience for selling out this show in under 10 minutes (how lengthy a time that seems now, to us veterans of as-yet future ticket scrambles).

Kevin, ever gracious, again thanked the crowd.  Here there was a pause, as everyone waited for Nick to settle into his drum kit.  He checked to see if his mic was on, as his tapping attested.  He followed this with a nonchalant “What’s up guys, I’m Nick.”  Ever the cool cat, he took his time feeling the next song, and everyone waited on him, because he was counting them into “Australia.”

Nick tapped his drumsticks with the count, and Kevin began strumming the power chords in the song’s intro.  Joe was poised beside Kevin, focusing on him as he played.  The energy then passed to Joe as Kevin had a rest in his music.  Joe threw his head and popped his knee as a perfect downbeat to begin singing his solo line “You never listen to me, I know I’m better off alone.”  His movement was a brief moment, but it was a perfect example of why Joe’s fronting is so riveting.

Joe continued to chomp into the verse as he performed a great spastic dance up and downstage from the drum kit to the audience.  Kevin gave us a glimpse of musician by-play here, striding to where the soundboard operator could see him, and indicating that some level or other needed changing.  I guessed he needed more in his monitor, because this is one song wherein Kevin actually sang a fair amount.  He would need to hear his pitches.

This performance of “Australia” was a treasure to me, as a Kevin-fan.  Kevin did it all in this song:  played, sang, directed the audience into clapping, etc.  The end of the song was particularly exciting because while Joe sang a wonderful descant, and Nick played the *heck* out of the drums, Kevin was taking a vocal lead.  Joe finished off the song in perfect style with a 3-note doo-wop falsetto slide.

After the song’s finish, Kevin acknowledged Nick J. on drums, and asked the crowd how many of them had bought the CD already.  He then wondered how many present had been at Virgin Mega Store at midnight the night before to see JB purchase their CD.  Judging from the shouts, many had attended (though not as many as would attend a year later).

Nick then announced a song off the new record, and invited everyone to sing along if they knew the words.  Then they were off into “That’s Just the Way We Roll.”  The performance here was far more subdued than the raucous opening-number that the song would eventually become.  But for all that, the lyrics were more in focus.  There was also a delightful moment when after the first chorus Kevin mugged joyfully at the crowd and Nick joined in, both guys playing right at the edge of the stage.  They were clearly having such fun; everything about them said, “Yeah, that’s right.  We rock.”

The segue into the next song was quick.  Joe treated us to some nice keyboard action, as the now seldom-performed “Hollywood” began.  

“Hollywood” was and is an interesting song, because it is one of the only means by which the Jonas Brothers have ever commented on their split with Columbia Records and their move to Hollywood Records.

The performance here was powerful, the guys had something to say, and they said it well.  The truth of the song was in the words.  And they were where they wanted to be in the end – at a place where they could make the music they wanted to make and given the support and creative freedom they deserved.  When watching this I was struck by how good it must have felt to sing that song, at that time, as the CD was being released and they were feeling on top of the world.  For a creative artist, nothing is sweeter than knowing that you have the support and understanding of the people you must count on to do what you do.  In August 2007, the Jonas Brothers finally had a label who knew what a prize they had signed.  As “Hollywood” built to its crescendo, anyone watching the Jonas Brothers could plainly see how much that meant.

I will return in another post to discuss the last songs in this performance.  I will leave the guys here, feeling good and enjoying their richly deserved applause.

[Via: Jonasphotos.org, mariaandjoe93(YouTube)]