John Waite Memphis Concert reviews
Parent-friendly quality musicianship
John Waite are affable guys playing their hearts out making interesting non-cookie-cutter pop-rock radio-friendly music. Took my 16 year old daughter, 14 year old son and 13 year old neighbor to see this band the other night (and I was far from the only one - lots of middle-school aged kids (mostly boys) too). One of their songs was featured frequently during the Olympics. The lead singer is charismatic yet down-to-earth, I'd want to have a beer with him afterward and hear more stories about the band's early days. They seem genuinely appreciative of the crowd (and kept telling us so) and still not quite fully believing of their success. Nothing over-the-top or migraine-inducing, absolutely nothing cringe-worthy or offensive (just ignore all the Beyonc茅 promotions at the venue); The tribute to a young fan who recently lost his battle with cancer was especially sweet (his brother was in the audience) and touching without getting bogged down in melancholy. A cover of Rush's 'Tom Sawyer' was a fun shout-out to all us "old people" and I'm sure that they have a new appreciation for Geddy Lee's unique vocals after attempting to sing in that range after three consecutive nights of shows. All in all, it's not a concert that "blew me away" but it was good, clean, upbeat fun and the quality of the musicianship made for a great experience to share with my kids. The opening acts went on FAR too long - 2 full hours worth when you factor in the set up and breakdown time - ugh. But most of that time we were in line at the concessions stands anyway.