Happiness Begins with the Jonas Brothers

If twelve-year-old me saw nineteen-year-old me on September 7th, driving up to Detroit to see the Jonas Brothers in concert with three of my college friends, she would have laughed. However, she would not have known the pure joy that came from the three-and-a-half-hour experience.

There has always been a soft spot in my heart for the Jonas Brothers, from their Disney days to their new adult lifestyles. When they released their first single “Sucker” on my birthday, I knew I would have to see them perform live. Luckily, my Breen-Phillips friends were just as enthusiastic about the idea. We bought the tickets last semester and counted down the days until September 7. In the car ride to Detroit, my friends and I learned all the lyrics to their new album. We were ready to prove to every other attendee that we were the most dedicated fans in the arena.

Outside the venue, we lined up with other ticket holders. To our surprise, we were some older fans there. The queue was filled with girls ages 14 to 17, some with their significant others who looked as if they were dragged along, wearing apparel from the old tour days. Some were even wearing custom-made shirts. We realized sadly that we were not the superfans we assumed we would be.

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The Jonas Brothers did not disappoint. Their two opening acts, Jordan McGraw and Bebe Rexha, knew how to put on a show. To my surprise, I learned that Jordan McGraw is both a talented musician and the son of television personality Dr. Phil. Bebe Rexha, whom I had seen live when she performed at Warped Tour 2015, had the whole audience singing and dancing to her set.

Eventually, the lights went out completely in anticipation for the headlining act. Joe, Nick and Kevin took the stage and opened with their single “Rollercoaster,” which was drowned out by the audience screaming for most of the song. 

With hits old and new, the 21-song setlist covered a variety of albums, from their Camp Rock days to their more mature sound with Happiness Begins to bits of Nick’s solo career and Joe’s other band DNCE. I believed “Only Human” was the best song performed lyrically and musically, but “Cake by the Ocean” had everyone dancing in their seats. The most surprising song that was performed was a medley. It covered bits and pieces of “Paranoid,” “Play My Music” and “Hold On” amongst a few other songs.

As talented as the trio is, I was upset with their lack of stage presence. There was minimal interaction with the crowd, except for the little speech by Kevin that left many in the audience confused by his statement. However, the group kept things interesting, moving from the main stage to a secondary one at the back of the floor seats. Nonetheless, the band was invited back for an encore consisting of “Sucker” and “Burnin’ Up” to end the night.

Source: the author

The concert was a great return to fame for the Jonas Brothers. Their performance was definitely the place for the semester (and happiness) to begin.

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