Jonas Brothers ramp up for tour at Wild 94.9’s WAZZMATAZZ, with Kim Petras and Conan Gray
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — The annual mid-summer classic of pop music once again rolled through Shoreline Amphitheatre. Curated by San Francisco’s Wild 94.9, WAZZMATAZZ hoists some of pop’s most buzzworthy names along with perennial favorites. The Jonas Brothers, who are about to kick off a massive world tour, led this year’s iteration of the bill.
“The very first time we ever played this venue was all the way back in 2008, how many of you were with us for that show?” Nick Jonas asked partway through an 80-minute set. “How many of you out there weren’t born yet in 2008?”
All three JoBros are now dads, he mentioned, adding that he loved to see older fans bringing kids of their own to the show.
As for the performance, the Jonas Brothers kept things informal, offering up a fun romp.
“We’ve been in tour rehearsal in Pennsylvania,” Joe Jonas said. “We thought we had to get over here to California to play one last show before our tour.”
Opening with “Only Human” and “What a Man Gotta Do,” the brothers ripped through the early part of the show with a keen musical sensibility, and of course, funk. Soul music permeated their latest LP, The Album, and flowed into the show.
The premise on the Jonas Brothers’ next latest tour is playing five albums in one night. While insurmountable—well, Taylor Swift is doing it—Joe Jonas assured the band is just about ready.
“We did a run-through and the show was six hours, so we’re almost there” he joked. “We’re almost at the two to three hours where we need to be.”
Also effective was the JoBros’ ability to let each brother take center stage for his own solo material.
Nick proffered “Levels” and “Jealous,” while Joe performed DNCE tracks “Toothbrush” and “Cake By the Ocean.” Kevin sat at the back of the stage, offering up background vocals.
Between songs, Joe Jonas tossed shirts to the adoring crowd.
“We didn’t really have any old merch of our own left, so we decided to bring along the new stuff and give you the first chance at,” he said.
The band made multiple mentions that its upcoming tour doesn’t have a San Francisco stop. At this point it’s all but a formality that a stop will be added to the run.
Nick Jonas gave a particularly touching speech about being able to collaborate with their father on a song very early in their career, “When You Look In My Eyes,” with the band then launching into the song.
Naturally, the Jonas Brothers saved the best for last with a trio of upbeat songs in “Burnin’ Up,” “Leave Before You Love Me” and “Sucker.”
WAZZMATAZZ’s other acts kept their sets relatively light at 20 to 25 minutes.
Kim Petras brought a club-ready set full of bass-heavy dance tracks. Flanked by backup dancers, Petras nimbly rolled through “Alone,” “Slut Pop” and “King of Hearts.” By and large Petras kept the focus on the music, saying just a few words along the way, once dedicating the older material to early fans. The highlight of the set came during a revved-up version of Petras’ collaboration with Sam Smith, “Unholy.” She briefly left the stage before closing out with “Heart to Break.”
Few artists riled up the younger set of fans quite like Conan Gray. The 24-year old took the stage in leather pants, dark glasses and a black shirt to the adoring screams of thousands on opener “Never Ending Song.” The track has a decidedly ’80s pop-rock feel to it. Gray stalked the stage for his 15-minute set, offering up a charismatic set with clean vocals.
“How many people came with family here tonight?” Conan Gray asked.
Gray had a natural presence and an endearing style, casually moving through “People Watching,” “Maniac” and “Memories.”
Opening up the night was 20 year old singer-songwriter Charlie Finch, better known as charlieonnafriday. The singer had an interesting mix of styles: a little Bieber energy with some hip-hop thrown in. Finch had just a few minutes to leave a mark and delivered a solid performance.
“This is a song I wrote in my parents’ basement when I was 17 that changed my life,” Finch said before rolling into “After Hours.”
Oddly enough, charlieonnafriday’s “I’m Not Crazy” references Matchbox Twenty, infusing the melody of the band’s “Unwell” into his own track.
Finch was backed only by a DJ, who also sang backup, our favorite moment coming on the rousing “Enough.”
Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald. Follow Chloe Catajan at Instagram.com/riannachloe.