Chainsmokers hardly habit-forming on stage
The pop stars turn in a so-so concert in San Francisco
The Chainsmokers have successfully straddled the line between electronic dance music and mainstream pop on such hit recordings as “Paris” and “Closer.”
Yet it was a different story when the New York City DJ/ producer duo — consisting of Drew Taggart and Alex Pall — played the first of two sold-out shows at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on Friday
The overall performance was mediocre at best, only managing to reach the heights of the band’s best studio work a few times in roughly two hours of stage time. The pop rarely popped and the dance music wasn’t very electric, as The Chainsmokers sewed together a motley crew of song snippets, abbreviated live performances and uninspired theatrics in support of the chart-topping debut album “Memories ... Do Not Open.”
But fans weren’t going to let an overly complicated and convoluted show stop them from having a great Cinco de Mayo. The fans were downright wild, with some even tossing off their tops and boogying in their undergarments.
The two Chainsmokers were dressed much more conservatively, in T-shirts and jeans, as they appeared onstage amid flashing lights and began to quickly DJ their way through such tunes as “Inside Out” and the early favorite “Kanye.”
A song would usually get a minute or so of airtime before the duo went onto the next record. This rapid-fire approach somewhat negated the need for guest – or “featured” – performers, who play such a huge role in the band’s phenomenally popular studio work.
Still, it was hard to feel like we were getting anything other than vastly inferior versions of the songs.
The two men did a lot of bouncing, and asking us to bounce as well, as the lights swirled and the fog machine pumped.
Taggart eventually grabbed a microphone and crooned a passable take on “Break Up Every Night,” as the lights went up enough for the crowd to see a few extra musicians — a drummer and two more keyboardists — had taken the stage.
Besides occasionally tackling some vocalist work, Taggart also handled most of the talking to the crowd. He seemed in good spirits, even feeling comfortable enough to poke a little fun at his less-than-inspiring effort on some kind of keyboard apparatus.
“Hey, make some noise for me! I know I only played three notes, but I played the (expletive) out of them,” he said, nicely summarizing the live experience in the EDMpop age.
The most fulfilling moments came when Emily Warren ventured onstage, adding her memorable vocals to such offerings as “Don’t Say” and “My Type” (both of which she co-wrote and sang on in the recorded versions).
Yet, there just didn’t feel like a whole lot of rhyme or reason to this show, as the group shuffled between meekly playing DJ — even going so far as to spin The Notorious B.I.G. and Papa Roach — and delivering lackluster pop performances.
There’s no doubt these guys have a way with a pop melody. In particular, “Paris” is such a memorable composition, which jazz artists will likely be riffing on for decades to come.
Yet, Taggart and Pall need to find ways to highlight that strength in concert, even at the risk of losing some of the EDM elements.