Allen Stone at the Granada: A Concert Review

Tuesday night (September 30th) the Granada Theater celebrated their 10^th anniversary with performances from Allen Stone, Bad Rabbits, and Jared and the Mill and they threw down. First Jared The Mill, a 5 man band from Tempe, Arizona started the energy off high with their folk songs. During some songs, the band would jump which gave their performance some extra flair. I enjoyed watching them sing and play the banjo and standing bass along with all of the other instruments and vocals. Next, I was pleasantly surprised to see the next group because it has been a while since I’ve seen a band dancing and playing R&B/funk music. Bad Rabbits is the name of the band and they had us chant it a few times as they jammed the whole way through their set. They also brought the energy and as they played, the crowd was delighted, dancing and singing along.

Before Allen Stone came out, we got to see a video celebrating Granada Theater’s 10 year anniversary. Then at about 9:30, the lights went low and everyone went crazy. Allen Stone, an R&B singer-songwriter, appeared with his band and began singing “Freezer Burn”, one of his new songs from his new up and coming EP, Radius. It set the night off great- a bunch of new songs along with the old ones. When he sang “Celebrate Tonight” the crowd got even louder, singing and dancing along. During about the 4^th song, “Million”, the crowd was so ecstatic that Allen said we were one of the best crowds he had ever played to. (This was one of the best crowds I have ever been a part of too). Early on, Allen got everyone to loosen up some more with some side to side dance moves. He and his band had some moves themselves and seemed like they were having just as much fun as us singing, playing, and dancing on the stage. “Unaware” was one of the best moments of the night as the crowd sang loudly along to the song and Allen switched up the vocals a little at the end which took the song so much higher. The concert was so magnificent, we were not only treated to an amazing performance but, we also got to hear the new songs- “Circle”, “Freezer Burn”, “Fake Future”, and “Million”. Allen ended the show then came back to sing a few songs including a soulful cover of Gotye’s “Somebody I Used To Know“ and ended on “Satisfaction” where everyone just let go one last time. After the show, as I was walking to my car, people were coming from the parking lot, excited. As I walked up the stairs to the lot, there was a group of fans talking and taking pictures with him. He was really nice and stayed to meet with everyone.

If you haven’t heard of Allen Stone before, his voice is crazy. He sings every note with so much passion, you can’t help but to feel what he is saying, which makes me love his songs. Then on top of that there are the unique lyrics, he plays the guitar with a knack for soul, and dances along. Therefore, if you get a chance to see him, go! You may think he is amazing on video but it gets even better live.