Supernova Live

Yesterday Keith, my brother-in-law, took me to see Supernova as part of the birthday gift they gave me back in August. The tour is now just getting started...

As you may or may not know, our family has been a big fan of the series Rock Star. It's an edgier version of say American Idol, which we also happen to enjoy.

Anyway, Lucas wasn't really whom I was hoping to win but he won none-the-less. Surprisingly, I ended up liking the album very much.

The show was at the Spectrum in Philly. Once there the guy behind us strangely asked us if we had bought our tickets. The looks on our faces must have cued him into elaborating a little further. Apparently they only sold 3600 tickets. 3200 tickets were given away! Eek. Not a good sign.

Before the show started, Lucas made a sneaky appearance into the arena to check things out. He couldn't have been more than 6 or so feet away. He said to those around to enjoy the the show, then waved and went on his way.

Dilana, the runner-up, opened with an acoustic set of 4 or 5 songs. Magni, also a contestant, accompanied her on guitar and backup vocals. I was a fan of Dilana and she lived up to my expectations. A little more stage was then opened up and Juke Kartel, Toby's band, played a short set of 4 or 5 songs. Toby was really whom I wanted to win the contest. He ended up coming in third which left me a little confused as to why Dilana opened. Juke's set was very good and they mixed in a cover (Burnin' Down The House) with some originals.

More stage was opened up as Juke finished to give more room to The Panic Channel, which is Dave Navarro's band. For those unfamiliar, Dave was co-host of Rock Star. Neither Keith or I had heard anything from The Panic Channel up until this point. We had no idea of what to expect. But as it turns out, they really appeared to be the highlight of the show. Their style is nothing more than good old hard rock. Just how I like it. But they had a great energy and sound that left you wanting more. Dilana visited the stage at the end of their set to add vocals to Highway to Hell.

Finally it was time for the Grand Finale. The rest of the stage was opened up and Supernova made their appearance. Right off the bat both Keith and I thought the bassist didn't look like Jason Newstead. Well, it wasn't him. Later, when I returned home, I found out he injured his shoulder and was unable to play. So, how was it? In a word... OK. Something didn't seem quite right. There was no electricity and the songs sounded iffy. Not bad. Not great. Average. Right now they are taking a lot of heat in the press. Honestly, I can see why. Lucas, while a nice guy, doesn't seem to have that stage presence that a good frontman might have. It's something that Toby has for sure. Lucas is ok but at times seemed at a loss for words in between songs. As the night progressed people slowly started to trickle out. By the time the encore finished, half the people had already left the building.

All that being said though, I still enjoyed the show. Yes, I was hoping for a little more, but I still left happy.

If you are into this type of music, download it to take a listen. If you like it, make sure you buy it. Right now they need all the help they can get. :)