What can I say about the Maybe Man Tour other than, “Wow!”
AJR have taken their stage act to a whole new level with this tour.
Selling out the TD Garden is a reigning achievement for a trio of brothers
from humble NYC roots. Adam, Jack and Ryan captivate their audiences with
pure energy and a stage production that is unparalleled.

From the opening song of the show, “Maybe Man”, we were treated
to about a dozen faux-Jacks, spot-lit one at a time with each verse of
the song; bearded and donning the trademark Jack hunter caps and
flannel button downs positioned with their backs to the audience throughout
the arena (one was even dangling from the lights above the stage).
When the real Jack revealed himself, facing the crowd, the Garden
exploded in cheers. And when the “1-2 Pandemonium hit”, so did the tears
of overwhelming excitement. It was easily one of the best live
show opening performances I’ve ever seen…and I’ve seen A LOT of shows.

The band treated its fans to all their catalogue-spanning
hits with an emphasis on songs from the new record.
AJR took advantage of their digital screen backdrop and even
blurred the lines between digital and reality by inserting themselves
into the screen imagery. They’ve mastered the art of theatrical
performing in a pop concert. One of my favorite moments was during
the song, “Karma” when Jack was falling through the sky, dangling
from wires, pulling off acrobatic flips while still singing as the screen
images of clouds and buildings and wind gusts passed
him by; truly giving the illusion that he was falling from the sky.

The band also made the show interactive. They took to the cheap
seats for a short acoustic set in the upper tier of the arena,
sitting amongst their fans, playing “The World’s Smallest Violin”.
They ended this set with “Steve’s Going to London” during which they
raced back through the main halls of the arena onto the stage
for the crescendo of the track,
finishing it with plugged-in instruments.

Ryan must be one of the most creative sonic engineers out there.
He demonstrated how he came up with the backing track to
“Way Less Sad” by splicing together sounds from his own family
home videos from when he was a kid; speeding up or slowing down
pieces of the audio to create a cohesive backdrop to the song.
He is a truly brilliant artist and the fact that he used those personal
moments from his home movies to create such a beautiful song is a
testament to how much the band puts their heart and soul into
their writing process.

The finale of the show, “2085” began with a declaration by Jack that he found his
people in the world. Renouncing the haters and saying he didn’t care what they
thought as long as they had found the people they could connect with - us…his fans…the ones
that understand and appreciate their art. He then began to sing the final song as he
morphed into a shadow that grew larger on the digital display before revealing a
giant animatronic-Jack-head hanging from the ceiling of the arena. As the song finished,
the brothers joined hands and took their bow. Jack sang the final words of
the song, “…for two or three minutes, then I’m GONE”. At that very moment, all
three band members instantly dropped through the stage floor, disappearing right
as the house lights came on. Boston was left in awe, having witnessed something so
unique and beautiful and uplifting. It was truly a spectacle that
each and every attendee will remember forever.