Third time unlucky for Brantley Gilbert
It was the reverse of three’s a charm at Prospera Place on Friday night: two good concerts earlier in the week followed by a less-than-optimal performance.
Johnny Reid on Tuesday and Santana on Thursday proved that Kelowna’s downtown arena can host Las Vegas-style shows and thoroughly entertain up to 5,000 people. Something went horribly wrong overnight.
After listening to Brantley Gilbert videos on YouTube, the anticipation level was high and it only increased after openers
American Josh Phillips and Canadian Tim Hicks.
However, when Gilbert took the stage, something happened to the sound quality for the American country singer, songwriter and record producer from Jefferson, Georgia.
His verbal exchanges with 2,600 half-filling the arena were clear enough and we learned about his wife, new son, two grandfathers, and his reverence for those serving in the military, past and present, and those fighting cancer.
As soon as he started singing, though, it was difficult to decipher his lyrics, at least for those of us in the nosebleed section.
You could pick up a word or two here and there but for the most part, it was excruciating and you wished there were subtitles on the two large video screens on both sides of the stage. Even those who knew all of his songs and sang along admitted it was not vintage Gilbert.
Looking around, a few ardent fans were standing and swaying to the music but some were chatting with friends and even using their cell phones. Gilbert must have realized there was a sound problem. When he tried one of the traditional crowd-rousing routines — left side shout this, right side shout that, there was only limited response. When he urged everyone to raise their hands over their heads, only those in a large mosh pit, only partially filling the perimeter of the stage and long runway, plus a few fans in the stands joined him.
Those in the limited floor seating area, well back from the stage and empty mosh pit in front of them, were moving with the melody but the vast majority of those in the stands simply sat there. Perhaps they hoped the vocals would improve as the concert progressed since virtually all stayed until the end of Gilbert’s 80-minute set.
A survey of more than a dozen people on the way out — those in the stands and on the floor — revealed others also felt Gilbert’s vocals were sub-standard and they used terms like “muddy” and “muffled.”
When it came to the Kelowna presentation of The Ones That Like Me Tour, it should have been re-titled The Ones That Can Hear Me Tour. You had to feel sorry for Gilbert since it had so much promise. For those who yearned for better vocals, go to YouTube.
The staging, though, was first class compared to other bands that have simply erected a stage, set up their equipment and performed without any elaboration.
Gilbert’s crew, on other hand, not only had those large projection video screens on either side of the stage with live band feeds but eight other screens of various sizes behind the stage showing everything from flames to video clips of band members.
The lighting techs set up eight floor spotlights on either side of the stage, plus more than a dozen spots overhead for dazzling effects including different colours, patterns, rotation and flashing, all very cell-phone-camera enticing.
The drum kit was set up on a platform with metal skeleton towers on the four corners. After Ben Sims climbed onboard, the
platform rose three metres in the air and Gilbert entered the stage from underneath. Guitarists Jess Franklin, Noah Henson,
Stephen Lewis and B.J. Golden (who also played other instruments) did their best rock ‘n’ roll pairings while strutting across the stage. For the record, Gilbert’s setlist did include his hits: Weekend (check it out on YouTube), One Hell Of A Weekend, The Ones That Like Me, Bottoms Up, One Hell Of An Amen, You Don’t Know Her and Read Me My Rights. The latter has special significance.
Gilbert claims to have been arrested more than once in Florida but has never publicly admitted why.
B.C. and Canadian authorities say he is now “fully rehabilitated” so Canadians will hopefully see more of him in the future, Gilbert said, adding: “There's more to us than tattoes and chains.” My personal highlight was Hicks even though it was his second appearance in Kelowna in less than a year. By comparison, his vocals were clear and strong. You could tell he was singing Stompin' Ground, Slide Over, Got A Feeling, Here Comes The Thunder and Forever Rebels.
Leaving the arena, the lyrics to Hicks’ outrageously funny Canada-U.S. comparison, Stronger Beer, were still being repeated, not any of Gilbert’s songs: “We say ‘Eh?’, you say ‘Y’all.’ Ya, we both got pro football. ‘Cept we got bigger balls and a longer field, and one less down. We say ‘zed’, you say ‘zee.’ Sure we watch all your TV. You got stronger army down there, but, man, up here. We got stronger beer.”