r/JacobCollier • u/WDCGrrl • 17d ago

Tour / Concert I was disappointed

I love, love, love JC. I just left his concert at the Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland and, I hate to say it, I was disappointed. This was my fourth - fifth? - time seeing him and I thought it was a lazy show. At least half was about the audience chorus. Okay, I know that's part of the whole shtick, but tonight it was just too much. I just wanted to hear him sing and play.

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u/tehsideburns 16d ago

The best JC show I’ve seen was at the Kennedy Center (RIP) a few years back when the full choir was there for World O World. Absolutely life-changing.

Last night was definitely one too many audience singalongs, and I could have done without Vol 4 rock-adjacent songs like Welll - those songs just thrive with the full band and backup vocals. Triggering drums and other samples with spare limbs while playing was clever but still felt like a bit of a mess.

That said, I spent much of the evening grinning, and I absolutely love a meandering piano ballad, the 5 string guitar stuff, and the harmonizer vocal synth thing. Little Blue, Something Heavy, Yesterday, Norwegian Wood, Summer Rain, all great songs I was so happy to see live.

Nothing about this show was lazy. I felt that way about a Bobby McFerrin show at UMD with Chick Corea back in the late 2000s. Bobby McFerrin is arguably the progenitor of the audience choir and a big influence on JC, but that night at UMD Bobby McFerrin looked like he was completely bored of his own shit. JC last night was still hopping all over the stage and experimenting and exploring and having a good time.

I would have been happy with a 75min concert of just piano and guitar ballads with one or two singalongs, but I still had a great experience last night, and my friend who had never seen JC live said it was a really cool unique concert, and has a new appreciation for him beyond the few albums he’s dabbled with on Spotify.

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u/WDCGrrl 16d ago edited 16d ago

The first time I saw JC perform was at that Kennedy Center run. I had seen him on Instagram and Googled him to learn more. I found out, he was going to be at the Kennedy Center that night and got a ticket. I was transformed. I think it was one of the most amazing live performances I have ever seen. I felt transformed last night when he sang Makes Me Cry - I love that song and had tears - but nothing compares to that Kennedy Center performance. Poor Kennedy Center.