AJR electrifies crowd with high energy performance

Opening with their rendition of “Spongebob Squarepants” “I’m Ready” clip, the AJR trio had the crowd on its feet and bouncing almost instantly. The brother-band held nothing back Thursday as it stepped onstage to a sold-out crowd at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall and created nothing less than a feel-good, sing-along narrative.

The high-energy Adam, Jack and Ryan Met kicked off their eighth career tour earlier in the week. Los Angeles was just their second stop. The Neotheater World Tour continues through Dec. 14, with concerts in New York, Amsterdam and London.

The band’s musical endeavors began in 2006. They wrote, produced and mixed their own content in their living room. Their third album “Neotheater” debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, with “100 Bad Days” drawing attention from Taylor Swift, Jimmy Kimmel and even Billboard. Ryan and Jack both attend Columbia University as undergraduates, and Adam is a doctoral candidate studying international human rights law at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom and just completed a year-long fellowship at Columbia.

Oregon native Tessa Violet opened for AJR just 40 minutes before releasing her newest single “Games.” Describing herself as “alt pop,” the 29-year-old has been creating music for the past six years after ending her career as a YouTube vlogger. There’s no denying Violet’s visual presence with her bright yellow bob and orange jumpsuit, commanding the attention of everyone in the venue.

Following Violet’s eclectic performance, the audience was greeted by smoke cannons and numerous cryptic messages projected onto the screen onstage. The stage went black, and suddenly, an intricate fusion of drums, flashy visuals and AJR’s signature trumpet sounded loud and proud to fill the venue.

From beginning to end, AJR’s eccentricity kept the crowd engaged and energized. Each of the band members brought their own quirks to the performance: Jack’s signature fur aviator hat, Ryan’s “penguin walk” across the stage and Adam’s short but amusing comments. The brothers were firecrackers, jumping, bouncing and crackling their voices to the beat of the music. It’s a miracle that lead singer Jack was able to stay perfectly on pitch while waving his arms around like a madman, high-kicking left and right.

The talent and lack of timidity could not have shined brighter as the band started off with some of its older hits, “Sober Up” and “Weak,” carrying the vibrancy through their transition to the acoustic performances of “Netflix Trip” and “Dear Winter.” The brothers even took a short break while their trumpeter, JJ Kirkpatrick, strutted on a treadmill, playing excerpts from the band’s most popular tracks.

AJR commanded the room, constantly engaging the audience with a visual-heavy performance. Inspired by timeless cartoons and adolescence, the brothers captured the attention of every age group in attendance. In one of the performance’s more memorable visuals, the crowd was taken back in time to the band’s early days in Washington Square Park — where the brothers used to perform covers for tips — and forward to a futuristic universe it dreamed up, never straying far from the brothers’ roots.

Despite being 13-year veterans in the music industry, transparency and genuity seem to still be a priority for the brothers. They spoke freely about their production process  — which still happens exclusively in their living rooms — and never becoming tired and repetitive in their staging. 

For its encore, the band closed with “100 Bad Days,” complete with sparklers, flashing lights and smoke machines. The extended rendition lasted for over five minutes of chaotic, ridiculous, unbothered dancing and smiling. The brothers’ ability to retain such high energy throughout the hour and a half long set, without ever wavering, is a testament to the strength of the band’s fanbase as well as their own performance skills.

AJR addresses the modern day musical aim of combatting the mental blocks and insecurities that inhibit people from having a happier life. The music is unique: No song’s lyrical or musical components decline but remain continuously buoyant. That type of positivity is rare. 

The brothers united the crowd as if it were a dysfunctional family, lifting it up while simultaneously engaging in playful banter. The Mets are extraordinary examples of creativity, authenticity and talent. Their ability to create upbeat music commenting on social norms and coming-of-age is phenomenal, but what really makes them special is their knack for not just performing, but also creating a full experience for fans.