Wednesday, October 10, 2012 By Clayton Mapelli
Neon Trees' lead singer, Tyler Glenn, sings to the crowd of nearly 2,000 people at the San Jose Civic Center on October 2nd, 2012. He and the band have been successfully touring and producing music since 2005. - Clayton Mapelli
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That recognizable bass riff and the infamous chant, “You gotta keep ‘em separated,” sure brought a lot of excited, young and old fans of The Offspring to the Civic Center on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012, not only to see them but to check out Dead Sara and Neon Trees as well.
Still a fairly new and growing band, Dead Sara was not an opening act to miss. A voice that draws an audience in is what was essentially needed to get the high energy of the show flowing, and Dead Sara’s lead singer, Emily Armstong, brought just that. There’s almost an experimental notion to her dynamic vocal range, and it’s as if her voice would fit almost any genre.The creative effects on the bass guitar, and the bullet-to-the-chest pounding of the drums really did a good job of highlighting themselves on stage. There was not one musician that stood out amongst the rest. Dead Sara played as Dead Sara: not as musicians, but as a band. It’s not often that the audience chants for more from the opener, but when the opener is as good as that, it was definitely necessary.
From garage to glamour, we then transitioned to Neon Trees as they, and and their stunning vocalist, Tyler Glenn, took the Civic Center’s stage. The white lights that were used by Dead Sara turned to pink and purple, and Glenn’s microphone stand lit up with a spiral on blue lights. Right from the start, the notion is that this is not your typical “rock” show. Well, Neon Trees is not a typical rock band. They’re better. They not only bring the music, but they bring the show. Nobody goes to a show, concert, festival - whatever- to stand there with their eyes closed. With pitch-perfect high and low notes, screams, and shouts, and a well-rehearsed band behind him, Tyler Glenn transformed a somewhat skeptical crowd into a crowd thirsty for more (no pun intended).
As anticipated as The Offspring were, they were, plain and simply, a slight disappointment. There are some bands that are able to maintain their musical posture with age, and some have been known to get better over time, due to experience and a sense of professionalism. The Offspring just haven’t matured. When they first released music back in the 90s, we listened because it was catchy, and not so much because it sounded amazing. That story hasn’t changed. Their performance was sloppy and their “punk kids” image is still there. Some are into it. I was, but I expected a lot more out of The Offspring, being as experienced as they are supposed to be.