On April 6th, I was very lucky to get to see AJR in concert. For the first time, in the two years I’ve been a fan I got to see them live in Hartford, Connecticut. When AJR announced their tour (The Maybe Man Tour) before the release of their album ‘The Maybe Man’ in November 2023 I was excited to get a ticket. I discussed in more depth the specifics of the album The Maybe Man, and this will discuss my experience with the concert itself.
My fears
It is an understatement to say that I have had bad luck with seeing AJR in concert. From concerts being too expensive, to having to graduate the night they preform to even them having to cancel half of their tour because their dad passed: it has been difficult to see AJR for me. And, April 2nd they announced how they had to cancel their first show in Norfolk because the venue was too small. April 5th, the east coast experienced an earth quake (I know it was a tiny one, but the fear was real). It wasn’t until April 6th when the lights turned off, and the video started playing that it was happening.
The Show
AJR promoted this show as their biggest and best concert, and honestly it was. With the start, a giant video played on screen and as the first song (Maybe Man) played it was already showing how gigantic the show was. There were multiple Jack’s (lead singer, Jack Met) on the stage and as Maybe Man continued they disappeared one by one until the real Jack was remaining.
The show was fit with beautiful visuals on screen and the different effects they used. It was colorful, vibrant and every effect used (whether it was a moving platform, lasers, or the animated screen) fit the song. With the astronauts in Touchy Feely Fool to the drum battle in Bang! this show was super entertaining.
Then, there was the entertainment during the show. They allocated some time to talk to the fans, Ryan got to try on a Mario Hat and the brothers (and their photographer Austin) struggled for about 5 minutes on how to use a polaroid camera. We got an insight on how they made their song Way Less Sad, and they got to play “Steve’s going to London” in the seats randomly.
2085
The end of the show was 2085. And, it was emotional. It came with Jack giving a pretty inspirational message and the boys disappearing in a flash, like in the song. But, it can’t be forgotten the surprise they had…well two surprises. At the end, it was revealed that there was a giant Jack puppet (which there’s a reason why but that’ll make this too long) and…confetti.
I was shocked with the confetti. I expected it for twenty one pilots, but not AJR. I did get a little bit of confetti, and it was in the colors of white and tan…the album colors. I wish personally they had the green ocean but, I am not complaining at this. I wish I also got more confetti but my pockets could only fit so much T_T. Overall, I really loved this show. It was super good, and my description did not do it justice. But this concert made an impact on me, and my wallet.
