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The Rice Thresher
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Carly Kocurek thresher editorial staff
Interviewing Lifehouse lead singer Jason Wade seemed to make him distinctly uncomfortable. Each response was prefaced with a deep breath and peppered with "like" and "you know." "Our album (No Name Face) went platinum the other day and it still hasn't sunk in yet," Wade said of Lifehouse's newfound success. "It's all very surreal right now, and we're just trying to catch up to everything that's happening so fast." Lifehouse entered the public eye without much of a build-up. "Everyone's like, 'Can you go places without getting recognized?' and two weeks ago I would have said yes, but everywhere we go now, it's like people are starting to recognize us, and wanting to come up and talk, which is so weird," Wade said. For Wade, reminders of his new fame come in unexpected places. "Yesterday we were passing someone on the street and we were like, 'Do you know where the local Subway is?' And she's like, 'Right down the street . oh, by the way I love your record,'" Wade said. "The bigger it gets, the weirder it gets." Lifehouse had barely finished work on its debut album when the band had the opportunity to tour with Pearl Jam. "The biggest jump was probably when we went on the road with Pearl Jam seven months ago," Wade said. "Like, we didn't actually play that much out, but now that we've been on the road for seven months, I feel like most of our live experience has been in the last seven months." Wade relaxed the most when he recounted the band's worst gig. "It was this radio show and everyone said there was going to be 10,000 people there, and we get there and it's a broken-down sound system, and there were like 200 people there," Wade said. "We had a guitar tech that tuned all of our guitars wrong, so during the middle of our single, it sounded so bad that we had to stop in the middle of it and retune," Wade said with a laugh. "The opening act was like karaoke night. It was so cheesy." Signs of the band's rapid upswing showed through when they opened for Everclear and Matchbox Twenty at the Compaq Center on April 11. Even with seven months' touring experience, Wade's on-stage presence is self-conscious. He may have the black T-shirt and studded belt of a rock star, but he doesn't quite have the swagger. When he shouts, "We appreciate you guys coming out to see us," during the opening song, his sincerity is unquestionable. "Performing to me isn't really second nature," Wade said. "I had to work at it because I'm more of a songwriter by nature." Even after the concert, when fans crowded by the press exit and Wade was swamped by giggling teenage girls with cameras, he looked more frightened than excited and ducked back inside as soon as possible. But on "Everything," the fourth song of Lifehouse's set, Wade seemed to lose himself completely to the music. The posturing was gone, the self-consciousness had dissolved, and Wade appeared unaware of the stage or the thousands of people. The last song, "Hanging by a Moment," finally had the crowd excited, and in spite of the band's apparent self-consciousness, they pulled off a powerful set. Compared to Wade's unassuming and nondescript speaking voice, the rich texture of his vocals are surprising, especially his ability to assume a rough desperate growl. While Lifehouse may have had a solid set for a young band, Everclear had the self-celebratory star power of veterans. I've heard the criticism that all Everclear knows how to do is be a pop band, but they're so good at it. The audience was on its feet as soon as someone hit a stray chord - the lights weren't even up yet. After hammering through the first three songs, lead singer Art Alexakis introduced the band members and pulled audience members up to dance on stage. "You cannot just stand there, or I'll kick you off the stage," Alexakis warned. As the band launched into "Rock Star," they were quickly upstaged by a couple of dirty-dancing blondes, but the band was unfazed. Alexakis encouraged fans to sing along, both on and offstage, and even shared the microphone with one fan, saying, "This guy kicks ass." If nothing else, Everclear knows to what extent its success depends on their fan base. Nearing the end of their set, Everclear played "Wonderful," and while Alexakis sang the intro softly over the piano introduction, he periodically screamed at the fans to sing louder. When the lights fell after "Wonderful," all I could think was that I really didn't want the set to end, and no one else did either. The audience remained tensely on its feet, applauding as if hoping to bribe the band back on stage. Hopes were not in vain since the lights came up and the band launched into "I Will Buy You a New Life," and then finally "Santa Monica." Everclear has found a good balance. While promoting their newer albums, they understand the importance of pleasing fans who want to hear older hits. Matchbox Twenty had a tough act to follow, but they managed. The light show was impressive as the band opened their set, but by the time they launched into "Benz," it had gotten distracting. Lead singer Rob Thomas proclaimed early in the set, "We got one rule for the next couple hours - we're going to forget about everything." I forgot about most things, but I kept ignoring the music to figure out what was going on with the light show, which often involved distracting flashes and images projected onto a large white backdrop. Sometimes the projected images and lights did heighten the music, like on "Last Beautiful Girl," when a series of portraits of women of various ages and ethnicities, complete with names, rolled across the screen. Overall, the band exuded an impressive amount of energy for most of the set. Particularly enjoyable were two tracks on which Thomas played piano. He lit up a cigarette almost as soon as the piano was rolled out, which added to the cocktail bar feel of the segment, and Thomas's singing voice for "You Won't Be Mine" took on a quality similar to John Lennon. The band quickly picked up the pace though, and Thomas delivered one of the most memorable lines of the evening as he thanked the fans. "We're like five dicks in a band," Thomas said. "Without you, we're nothing, so thanks." The raw energy of "Black and White People" reminded me of the Blues Brothers as Thomas jumped onto the drum stand and waved the microphone stand over his head while nearly screaming lyrics. Apparently, the band had the same thought, and ended the song with the final tag from "Turning it Loose." Finally the band performed an amazing cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" before closing the night with their first hit, "Push." From the newly famous Lifehouse to the firmly established Everclear and Matchbox Twenty, the underlying theme of the evening seemed one of stardom and rock 'n' roll dreams realized.
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