BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Make no mistake, indie-pop brother trio AJR is a boy band, despite members Adam, Jack and Ryan Met (nee Metzger) being ages 29 to 32.
The difference is that AJR seems to embrace the fun, even silliness, of it all — and so did its sold-out crowd of 6,400 at Musikfest's Steel Stage on the festival's Preview Night on Thursday.
- Indie-pop trio AJR kicked off Musikfest's main Steel Stage on Thursday
- It played a 15-song, 70-minute show that included most of its biggest hits
- Its show was fun rather than serious, and the sold-out crowd seemed to love it
In a world where even teen fans seem more sophisticated and world-weary, AJR looked to be having a ball throughout its 15-song, 70-minute show.
And that was refreshing, even if its songs aren't especially deep, or complex.
It probably disarmed any serious people in the crowd that singer Jack Met, keyboardist Ryan Met and bassist Adam Met all took the stage wearing shorts and casual shirts, with Jack wearing his trademark trapper hat (as were several audience members).
It was simply fun
Its songs were, in turns, show-tuney (singer Jack Met certainly was theatrical), offered in faux-reggae lilts and even throw-offs. But the audience, which contained far more guys and adults than you'd expect, seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.
It started with the catchy pop of its 2020 deeper cut "Bummerland," but the crowd was immediately singing along, loudly, as Jack Met, who seemed to borrow frequently from Justin Timberlake, spun in circles around the stage.
Even the 2021 Rock chart hit "3 O'Clock Things" was played far more reggae.
The crowd embraced it all — even cheering when the guys played a brief interlude of the "Pinnoccio" song "I Got No Strings," and when Jack strapped on a guitar to sing the 2017 platinum hit "Sober Up."
He asked the crowd to "sing along with us," an unnecessary prompt if there ever was one.
The crowd also cheered the first notes of songs such as the 2021 platinum hit "Way Less Sad," on which Jack again did a spinning jump.
'What's wrong with that?'
In all, AJR offered six songs from its newest disc, 2021's "OK Orchestra," and four from its biggest seller, 2019's "The Click."
It played most of its biggest hits, though pointedly avoided its first hit, 2013's platinum "I'm Ready," while adding throwaways such as a pop-reggae cover of Smash Mouth's "All Star."
It also including minor cuts, such as the very theatrical 2021 show tune "World's Smallest Violin" and the new "The Dumb Song," which they said is from an upcoming album whose name they have not revealed publicly.
But all of that also was fun, and the audience clapped along.
The group also spent time telling stories and interacting with the audience — especially before the new "Ordinaryish People," when it played a voice the members said was a message from their dad.
The show wound down with some of AJR's biggest hits — its 2018 double-platinum "Burn Down The House" (which the crowd also sang very loudly) and the 2022 single "The Good Part," which also had a very Broadway vibe.
Before the 2020 double-platinum "Bang!," which closed the main portion of the show, the brothers demonstrated how they built the song from the sound of a door knock in their apartment to a multi-layer, percussion-heavy exercise.
For that song, the crowd not only sang along, but danced along.
As its encore, AJR closed with perhaps its biggest hit, the triple-platinum 2016 hit "Weak."
And one couldn't help but again think AJR was again in on the gag when it sang the lyrics, "I'm weak — what's wrong with that?"
With the success AJR has had, and had Thursday night as the first headliner of Musikfest 2023, there's apparently nothing wrong with it.
