Rating The Concerts

In my last blog entry, I mentioned that Paramore’s concert in Manila was the best concert by a foreign band that I have attended. However, I could not decide if it really was the best concert (local bands included) that I have ever experienced. It was so close to call if I compare it to Eraserheads’ Final Reunion Concert last year. It was just too special and unique to be discounted. I need to come up with a better way to evaluate if Eraserheads’ Final Concert can be surpassed by Paramore’s concert and their unique effect on the crowd. My blogs usually feature analyses so we will put this evaluation to a deeper level.

I thought of using a mathematical rating system with categories of different weights. A bit nerdy because I learned this in school but it actually isn’t. I just think that it is the more effective way as it balances the objective and subjective sides. For ten minutes, I tried to come up with various categories, put in weights for each and evaluate each of the concerts in there. Tallying up the final score ain’t hard either (it may seem complicated but it’s not. Microsoft Excel makes things easier).

Here are the categories:

Musical Talent (Weight: x2). If you are going to check other categories, you will probably ask why was the weight just 2? The answer is simple: you attend concerts because there are several reasons why you want to be there. You have the ambience, the audience and the general feel (or all the other categories in here). If you are just after the musicality, you can just check it in YouTube. Nevertheless, this is still the most important category that is why it has the biggest weight. You do not want to watch a music artist that became successful after its original version was edited 156,389 times.

Showmanship (x1.75). Are the performers just standing on one corner or do they do some guitar exhibitions? The band has insane musical talent but was it able to convey it correctly?

Venue (x0.75). Of course, the venue matters! Was it in the concert grounds or inside a stadium?

Crowd Involvement (x1.5). Was the crowd participative? Was the band able to make the crowd lively? For other concerts, this does not matter a lot but for rock concerts, it does matter a lot. Rock bands normally get fueled by sheer energy.

Encore (x0.5). Encores are staples on every concert. It’s about ending the show with a bang. Also, it heightens the climax where the fans get the feeling “I have to enjoy every second of this last song.”

Song Choice (x1). It’s not just in American Idol where song choice matters. The song lineup affects the overall perception of the concert. You get pissed when bands do not perform their signature hits, but there should also be a balance where you also get introduced with new songs.

Presentation (x1.5). Believe it or not, this is an important aspect of a concert. The lighting, fireworks and the sound system should be superb for you to feel how awesome it is.

Uniqueness and Intangibles (x1.5). What makes the concert stand out? Is it as memorable as the others? Those things and other factors that I have missed out on other categories fall here.

I will just discuss four of the most memorable concerts I’ve been into. Front acts do not count and the concert should just be about one band. I have been in several concerts and gigs that feature multiple bands but I think it is unfair to put these in comparison to concerts that feature just one band.

Grading system would be A to F where A = 4 and F = 0. If you are an Atenean/Lasallian/someone who studied in US, I think you understand how this goes.

The concerts that I will be discussing would be Incubus (2004), Fall Out Boy (2007), Eraserheads (2009) and Paramore (2010). I will not factor in personal positives or biases (i.e., first foreign concert, first date with my ex-GF) since I am trying to analyze this on the overall (and general) effect to those who attended it in the concert.

Musical Talent
Incubus – A. I do not know if this was purely the effect of listening to local bands who sound differently from their studio versions. Nevertheless, Incubus showed that they are for real and do not need as much sound editing. It was just smooth and seamless. Of course, they also have the best lyrics of these four bands. Mike Einziger has unique and superb skills with the electric guitar. He is not conventional and still is very contemporary. He is one of the musicians who made me appreciate flanger. Of course, Brandon Boyd is an excellent vocalist.
Fall Out Boy – B+. You really have to appreciate Patrick Stump’s vocals. People always talk about Pete Wentz being FOB’s front act but Patrick is their most talented guy. Heck, even their drummer is more skilled than Pete musically.
Eraserheads – C+. As much as I love the Eraserheads’ talent, I have to be fair on this one. They had some issues performing (probably because they are not used to playing with each other anymore). There were obvious lapses in there. Nevertheless, there were also bright moments. After all, they are the best Philippine band.
Paramore – B. It is actually quite difficult to analyze this because Hayley’s vocals get usually drowned by the crowd because everyone is singing. Nevertheless, her distinct voice wins it for me (on the few occasions when it was quite clear to listen to her). Band-wise, they were not exceptional but still are decent enough. If they had Zac Farro perform solo in drums, I would have graded them higher but he did not.

Showmanship

Incubus – B. There were a lot of bright moments for Incubus when they first performed here. Brandon Boyd played solo with a guitar. Brandon Boyd helped out in the cymbals. It was above average. Unfortunately, they received a B from me because of a steep curve for the best band showmanship-wise.
Fall Out Boy – B. Another awesome performance. Pete Wentz (bass) and Joe Trohman (electric guitar) were having a field day with their guitars. They also had the crowd do a wave.
Eraserheads – B. With whatever they lacked musically, they made it up in showmanship.
Paramore – A. Pure showmanship. They are the youngest of the bunch yet they seem to be the most mature when performing in front of large crowds. You may say that they could be choreographed on some level (i.e., Jeremy’s Pressure flip) but I have watched a lot of their YouTube videos to say that there are some differences. Paramore knows how to involve the crowd as their hyperactivity is highly infectious. What I liked about it the most is that they did not need a lot of props to fuel up the crowds. It was old school in a way (even if Paramore is the youngest)

Venue
Incubus – B+. Open concert grounds? Check. That and the crowd volume is usually the most important for me in rock concerts. Yup, the more uncomfortable, the better. That is the feel of an old school rock concert. Unfortunately, I can’t give them the perfect score because of the seats that they put in the VIP section. Nobody used the plastic chairs for sitting though (people stand on them to get a better view thus making it slightly dangerous especially if people start to jump). In a way, it did not feel like a conventional rock concert. It’s awkward to stand on a chair. Heck, you cannot jump there.
Fall Out Boy – B. Inside an airconditioned stadium does not work for me. Sure you get your money’s worth because you are assured that you can see them clearly (especially if you are small), but the rock concert aura is just not in there.
Eraserheads – A. Open concert grounds with 100,000 fans filling it is definitely awesome. There were no seats for distraction either.
Paramore – A. Ditto. I know of the VIP-Gold incident (and I should be feeling bad for it because I am a VIP ticketholder) but if we are talking about pure rock concert feel (packed area), it just made it better. MOA concert grounds is definitely the best concert grounds these days.

Crowd Involvement
Incubus – C+. There were definitely silent moments especially when Incubus performed their new single. I can still remember being the only guy in our area singing A Certain Shade Of Green.
Fall out Boy – C+. Crowd was singing most of the time but because we are on a stadium, some were just seating.
Eraserheads – B. Slightly better than the other two because of the “Group Hug” chants and the fact that we made them perform an on-the-spot encore. Other than which, I did not experience the crowd ‘exploding’ that much.
Paramore – A. Crowd was just nuts. One hour of non-stop singing and partying. Hayley did not even need to ask us to sing harder when she pointed the microphone to us.

Encore
Incubus – B
Fall Out Boy – F
Eraserheads – A. The unplanned encore would have to be the best (except for Tim Yap’s epic fail attempt of singing). Three songs in the encore are the most I have ever heard as well. Eraserheads made sure that their last performance was very special.
Paramore – B

Song Choice
Incubus – B
Fall Out Boy – B+
Eraserheads – B
Paramore – B
Same grade for everyone (except for Fall Out Boy) since they performed their signature songs (missed some) and performed new songs as well. Fall Out Boy performed some covers of other artists and was more dead on with regard to their awesome songs.

Presentation

Incubus – B+. Sound was just so clear from the vocals to the instruments. It was nirvana when I listened to the lead guitar sounds then.
Fall Out Boy – B
Eraserheads – A. This criteria was made especially for Eraserheads. They had the best presentation of a band I have watched ever. From the fireworks to the confetti to the fact that they burned the keyboards. Their lounge setup was also awesome.
Paramore – B

Uniqueness and Intangibles

Incubus – C+. Aside from the fact that it was the first foreign concert that I witnessed, I did not see anything extremely special in it. The biggest thing going for it would have to be their musical talent.
Fall Out Boy – C+. Ditto. It was another above average foreign concert.
Eraserheads – A. That’s the last concert they did as a band. The presentation was splendid and the burning of the keyboards symbolized a lot. End of an era.
Paramore – B. Slightly higher than Incubus and Fall Out Boy concerts because of how they worked up the audience despite the lack of props and effects. Paramore’s concert leaves something for us to remember – the most charismatic band fueling their fans all the way.

Final Tally:
Incubus Concert = 33.125
Fall Out Boy Concert = 30

Verdict: Paramore slightly edges Eraserheads’ Final Reunion Concert 34.75-34.25