I did not come to this show expecting a big, wild, energetic show, because I know Michelle Branch is a performer who is more of a relaxing singer. I have heard that she does put on a good show however, so I was at least looking forward to those expectations. Rooney is a band that I do not care for, I have heard their singles and seen their videos, and I just do not think this is a band that will last long and they do not have a lot of talent and creativity. Joe Firstman—I have never heard of this band, I have no clue what type of music they play, and I don’t know what type of show they put on, so it was going to be a totally new experience for me.

I was a bit confused when I saw the stage set up - a piano, electric guitars, and acoustic guitars. I was kind of expecting a sound along the lines of Rooney—kind of a feel good type surfer rock, since they were on the same venue. I was totally blown away to hear a sound that is tough to describe. It sounded like a country western performer with a few rock riffs and a piano playing in the background. Since I haven’t heard the CD, I don’t know if this gets pulled off well when recorded, but it doesn’t live. It was just a bunch of noises that were too different to pull a melody together and a singer who was not of the highest quality to bring vocals to overpower the cacophonous instruments.

One thing that seemed to add to the ill environment of the show was the crowd. Being at a college campus, and it being a show of more mellow music, I expected an audience that was more relaxed and wanting to sit and enjoy the music. However, I saw more teeny bopper 15 year old girls than I could handle. When I first got in, there was a crowd forming at the front of the stage, which is expected for any show, but I have never seen kids try to start a mosh pit to an acoustic song with a piano, as was the case with Joe Firstman. If you have the energy to mosh, go right ahead, but this was not moshing, it was just kids trying to look cool and push each other a couple times then go back to looking for band members to meet. Between the sets, the guys from the opening act said they would be out walking around and meeting people: cool thing to do, gets a good fan base developed and lets people know that you wanna have a close knit tie with your fans. However, the people at this show reacted to it like these guys were the most important people on earth. There were little boys and girls crawling over the unknown performers begging for them to sign their stomachs, arms, and legs; they were grabbing up posters of guys they couldn’t name simply because they were in a band. It just seemed like everyone in the audience was star struck over guys that really weren’t stars yet.

When Rooney came out, the show really didn’t get any better. They did a better job at performing than the previous band did, but that doesn’t really say much. The band stood there and played their songs, which all sounded the same. The show became very redundant and quite boring. They played their new single, which I don’t recall the name, because it sounded like the opening song they played, and the current single they played. At this point I was really hoping that Michelle Branch could at least bring the show above the level of boring.

When she finally came out, the set was a lot like I was expecting—not a big band, a lot of acoustics, and a stool. Since I am not anticipating a spectacular performance, I just hope that the singing is at a level that can entertain on its own. I am not familiar with her songs, but she has an incredible voice. Every song she sang sounded like it could be recorded to an album without any producing or editing needed. Sure, the songs were a slower pace than I usually prefer, but she went beyond every expectation I had for her performance. While she is a beautiful woman, she does not dress skanky and dance around parading her body like some of the other performers in the business do. She knows people are there to hear her sing, and she delivers that with no flashy productions. She managed to take a concert that was absolutely horrid and give me at least a few good things to point out. She had some sub par openers who were from a genre that may not have meshed too well with hers, but she did everything she should to please her fans and prove why she is in the business.