Joe Jonas leads DNCE to pop mediocrity
Frontman has decent voice but lacks stage presence and charisma
DNCE could be the next Maroon 5.
And that’s only partially meant as a compliment.
The young pop act, led by Joe Jonas of Jonas Brothers fame, seems built for mainstream success. The quartet boasts a Hot Topicfriendly look, a mostly inoffensive sound and songs that are instantly catchy, yet ultimately forgettable.
Their tunes are pretty much the musical equivalent of cotton candy — sticky, sweet and lacking in substance.
But who doesn’t like a big helping of cotton candy now and again?
The 1,000-plus fans that filled The Fillmore in San Francisco to capacity on Sunday night certainly seemed to enjoy themselves, bouncing along to songs from the group’s self-titled effort of last year.
DNCE (pronounced as separate letters, D-N-C-E) proved quite competent, if not exactly memorable, onstage. The set was wellpaced, occasionally entertaining and, most significantly, of appropriate length — clocking in at about 70 minutes, which seemed just about right for the band’s body of work.
The show kicked off in bizarrely amusing fashion, as a recording of the instantly recognizable “Star Wars” theme was triumphantly blasted out of the speakers and two folks took the stage wearing stormtrooper masks and waving “Team DNCE” flags.
Then four more people dressed in “Star Wars” garb hit the stage, battling each other with light sabers. Finally, a Darth Vader helmet was removed from one, revealing Joe Jonas, the singer who first found widespread fame as one-third of the Disney-approved band The Jonas Brothers.
As the “Star Wars” theme died down, Jonas launched into one of DNCE’s worst cuts, “Naked.”
Yet, instead of wishing they were in a “galaxy far, far away,” the fans ate it up, hopping along with gusto to the steady stream of upbeat dance-pop offerings.
It was clear from the start that Jonas still has a long way to go as a frontman. He has a decent singing voice — probably the best of the three Jonas brothers. Yet, just like his most famous brother (Nick Jonas), he lacks stage presence and charisma.
It doesn’t help matters that his bassist, Cole Whittle (formerly of Semi Precious Weapons), spends so much time hogging the spotlight, putting way too much effort into trying to be colorful and flamboyant. He’s a distraction, plain and simple.
Jonas, Whittle, drummer Jack Lawless and guitarist JinJoo Lee were quite efficient as they continued through “Zoom,” “Body Moves” and other cuts from the band’s eponymous debut. They mostly stayed on track, occasionally detouring to toss clothing (T-shirts and underwear) into the crowd.
The band performed all of the “DNCE” album (including the bonus track “Jinx” found on the version sold at Target).
It also took the time to cover David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.”
And, believe it or not, the earth didn’t spontaneously burst into a ball of fire.
Yeah, it must have been all the rain.
Actually, DNCE did an OK job with the Bowie cut, and even a bit better with the very next song — a groovy cover of George Michael’s “Freedom ’90.”
The DNCE crew then chilled out, performing a stripped-down segment that included “Jinx” and “Truthfully,” before ramping the adrenaline back up with the crowd favorite “Toothbrush” and the Maroon 5-colored “Be Mean.”
The band saved the best for last, rocking through covers of two of the best pop singles of the past 25 years — Britney Spears’ “Oops!... I Did It Again” and the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe” — as well as its own glistening gem “Cake by the Ocean” during the encore.