{"id":8162,"date":"2011-08-02T17:09:07","date_gmt":"2011-08-02T21:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/?p=8162"},"modified":"2011-08-02T17:11:38","modified_gmt":"2011-08-02T21:11:38","slug":"matthew-morrison-and-ian-axel-at-the-beacon-theatre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/2011\/08\/02\/matthew-morrison-and-ian-axel-at-the-beacon-theatre\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew Morrison and Ian Axel at The Beacon Theatre"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matthew Morrison<\/a> headlined The Beacon Theatre<\/a> last night. That\u2019s a very big deal for a lot of people (I mean his fans). We wouldn\u2019t have noticed, except for the opener, Ian Axel<\/a> (listed as a Special Guest on the marquee). We don\u2019t watch Glee, but I\u2019m aware of how big a hit it is and how big a following it has and how beloved Matthew Morrison is to those fans.<\/p>\n

\"BeaconTheatreMarqueeMatthewMorrisonIanAxel\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I normally cover the headliner first. The exception is when the headliner doesn\u2019t mention the opener. Since Matthew didn\u2019t even acknowledge that there was an act before his, let alone repeat his name, I get to cover Ian first (which I am happy to do).<\/p>\n

(Apologies for the dearth of photos and the awful quality of the few I\u2019m posting. Lois uses a compact, and we were much further back than usual. It was effectively useless\u2026)<\/p>\n

This is the second time in less than a week that we\u2019ve seen Ian Axel open for a very big headliner. The two shows couldn\u2019t have been more different. Last Thursday<\/a> was an outdoor, full-band show, with a possibly larger crowd (hard to tell, it was in a park), opening for Five For Fighting<\/a>. Last night was mostly Ian (no band), acoustic.<\/p>\n

One thing that was the same, fantastic sound systems and sound engineers at both shows, but the indoor acoustics at the Beacon wins hands down. We\u2019ve seen Ian solo and with full band enough times that there were only a few surprises.<\/p>\n

Ian opened the show with Waltz, which starts with a long-ish piano intro. Considering what an incredible pianist he is, it\u2019s a great way to introduce newcomers to his skill. On the other hand, I imagine that some people might have been thinking that they would be listening to classical music until Matthew hit the stage.<\/p>\n

\"IanAxelPiano\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That feeling might have been exacerbated considering that Ian had a single musician accompanying him, the world-class cellist, Dave Eggar<\/a>. I\u2019ll come back to Dave in a minute.<\/p>\n

\"DaveEggarIanAxel\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I still think Ian picked an excellent song to open with. The lights went down at exactly 7:30pm (the announced show time), which is awesome, but catches way too many people scrambling for their seats. The piano intro gives people something to latch on to aurally and just when they sit, bam<\/strong>, the singing starts.<\/p>\n

\"IanAxel\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The vocals (for everyone, not just Ian) were so perfectly mic\u2019ed with the volume set just right that on some level, it was like hearing Ian for the very first time (as in chills<\/em> down the spine effect). Ian\u2019s voice is highly nuanced and really portrays (captures?) the emotional content of his songs.<\/p>\n

Ian can captivate with just a piano, no problem, but I still prefer the full band sound, partially because he has a great band. Dave Eggar is such a great cellist (no matter the musical format) that having him alone replace a full band was quite interesting. He\u2019s not just playing mellow strings in the background. He creates percussive sounds (not quite mimicking a drum, but filling in that feeling), fills in bass lines, etc.<\/p>\n

In other words, if you can\u2019t bring a band, bring Dave Eggar! \"Smile\"<\/p>\n

\"DaveEggar\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ian then introduced the next song, Gone, and calmed the crowd down (in advance), lest they misunderstand<\/em> the purpose of the song. If you listen to it, you\u2019ll understand why he feels the need. His intro worked, with the majority of the audience chuckling (appropriately). Dave accompanied Ian on Gone as well, then left the stage.<\/p>\n

Ian switched gears and played Leave Me Alone! solo. Such a fun song, delivered perfectly. I was impressed that everyone seemed to be listening to the words (another advantage of great sound engineers and acoustics), because they laughed (hard) at the right places<\/em>. It\u2019s funny on the CD, but Ian\u2019s live delivery adds a dimension that can\u2019t be captured without the visuals.<\/p>\n

Ian asked the audience if they would sing along to the call\/answer section, It Ain\u2019t Easy. Many did (I sang really loud, sorry to those around me who wished I didn\u2019t). People also clapped to the rhythm. Ironically, there is a special clapping part in that song, but to a cool beat, not just straight clapping. I don\u2019t blame those that came for Matthew for not knowing that, and I don\u2019t blame Ian\u2019s fans (me included) for not trying to confuse everyone by doing it right<\/em>. \"Winking<\/p>\n

Ian then introduced his writing and singing partner, Chad Vaccarino<\/a>. The two of them performed a very special version of one their newest (unrecorded) songs, Rockstar. This is another song that works perfectly with and without the band. Chad\u2019s voice is something that every music lover should experience, live, at least once. Now that I\u2019ve heard him at the Beacon, I highly recommend that you hear him there. \"Smile\"<\/p>\n

\"IanAxelChadVaccarino\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Like they did in Stamford (for the first time), they morphed the song into Elton John\u2019s Tiny Dancer. I might be mistaken (and probably am), but it seemed that they sang considerably more of the song last night, their voices blending beautifully together. Before finishing it, they morphed back into the end of Rockstar.<\/p>\n

At this point I\u2019ll mention the only niggle about Ian\u2019s performance. He was playing on a baby grand. If I am correct, it was an electronic device, not an acoustic grand. Typically, Ian changes the pressure he applies on the keys (and pedals?) to create dramatic emotional shifts in the sound of the music, even when he plays alone.<\/p>\n

Rockstar and Leave Me Alone! both have such shifts (typically). With a full band, the shifts are easier to create between the bass and drums, but Ian is very effective. Last night, either the nature of the \u201celectronic\u201d piano, or Ian\u2019s change in style, or something regarding sound leveling, no such shifts occurred. The volume and feel of the piano was constant throughout each song.<\/p>\n

Ian and Chad closed their set with their signature hit, This is the New Year. Perfect.<\/p>\n

It was an absolute treat, short though it was, to see them in such a gorgeous venue, supported by excellent sound engineering, playing to an attentive and appreciative crowd, made up mostly of strangers to their music!<\/p>\n

On to the headliner, Matthew Morrison.<\/p>\n

I understand that we had as little sense of what to expect of Matthew\u2019s set as most of the crowd had before Ian\u2019s. I also understand the there are big themes in the show Glee, that his (and the show\u2019s) fans would be disappointed if he didn\u2019t reproduce, or find a way to pay homage to, on stage. The point of this defensive<\/em> intro is to say that I understand that there was context<\/em> to his performance, this wasn\u2019t just a singer\/songwriter coming on stage to share his music.<\/p>\n

Ultimately though, Matthew Morrison is touring in support of a new, self-titled CD, that was released in May 2011. While it may instantly appeal to Glee fans, if he is to have real success in the music business, it better have much wider appeal than that.<\/p>\n

The show started with a large screen dropping from the ceiling in the back of the stage. There was a short clip of Matthew driving a car, with Jane Lynch sitting in the passenger seat. The clip was extremely funny, well produced and delivered. I also happen to be a huge<\/strong> Jane Lynch fan (obviously having nothing to do with her role in Glee). That set a good tone for me.<\/p>\n

When the lights came on, Matthew\u2019s band was already on stage. He came out in a tux (complete with bow-tie).<\/p>\n

\"MatthewMorrisonCenterStage\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Before I describe the show (from my perspective, for his fans who will want to jump all over me), I\u2019d like to list a few positive things (none of which I knew before):<\/p>\n