Full disclosure: Lowjack is my favorite bar band in this town. But as you might imagine, hearing it play at THON is a significantly different experience than hearing them play at 1 a.m. at the Phyrst on Saturday night. And at both venues, Jason D. and his crew played just what was needed for the situation.
I’ll explain: As I’ve written before, Lowjack doesn’t try to do too much when it performs, which is what makes it such a great bar band. This morning at THON, Lowjack played a set filled with the hits that have made it so popular. It started with its rendition of “Seven Nation Army,” which included an awesome violin riff over the usual heavy bass. From there, it moved into a surefire hit to get the dancers jumping, “Shipping Up To Boston.”
For those who’ve never heard Lowjack, it comes complete with a violinist, who is extremely good at his job. Lowjack played its best song fourth — its rendition of “Devil Went Down To Georgia” is better than the real thing — and let its violinist go wild. It was awesome. From there, it was crowd-pleaser after crowd-pleaser, with “Sweet Caroline” and “Wagon Wheel” getting the crowd going.
Often, Jason thanked the crowd and praised THON. When Lowjack began playing the familiar riff of “Mr. Brightside” at the middle of its set, it had the attention of the crowd (and Onward State’s row in the press box, of course). Lowjack had a tall order on which to follow up, and it delivered.