158 – Phillip Phillips -- Saturday, July 19, 2014 – Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, MD

Phillip Phillips was my fourth American Idol concert.  I previously saw Elliott Yamin in DC, Crystal Bowersox in DC, and all the Season 12 finalists in Charlotte.  On the one hand, Phillip ranked dead last in terms of personality.  The only performer I have seen with less charisma was Jack Johnson.  That’s not saying much, though, considering that the fly who buzzed around the frets of Johnson’s guitar had more charisma.  On the other hand, Phillip’s music was probably closer to my genre that any of the other Idol finalists.

How did those two elements come together during the concert?  By canceling each other out.  See what I mean below:

--- “Man on the Moon.”  Heh, trumpet guy's the star.  PP spurs on the crowd a bit already: nice.  Awesome electric jam!

--- Some monotone mumble.

--- “Fly.”  Nice mood piece.  Would fit well with the infamous “Fly” episode of Breaking Bad. Lol at the hard rock cello.  The trumpet and jamming is making me crave an eventual Dave
Matthews show.

--- I literally have no clue what he said to the crowd.  He says “I want you to be really loud for this next one” WITH NO VOCAL INFLECTION.

--- “Raging Fire” is hilariously upbeat.  The crowd-prompted “ah-ah-ah”s are so pleasant and rage-free.

--- Less pleasant is the sentence he just slurred after the song.

--- “Get Up Get Down” is meh live…...Until the trumpet jam!!  The trumpet’s the best part of each song! This one was especially good because the vocals came back at the end -- and were so much better with the buy-in.

--- I recognize "Lead On" -- yay for me!  The song's nothing special, but it's worth noting that there's no vocal falloff from the albums.  His voice was not exactly his strong suit on Idol, but anyone who makes it through the show has to be competent.  Ooh, a trombone comes in.  Of course it's the star of the song.  Would have been bettered if the vocal returned, but it’s still cool.

--- “Alright,” he whispers.  This guy needs his own late-night talk show…

--- “Gone Gone Gone” rules.  Hahaha, I thought the line was "cause I'm drunk and can't stop bleeding"; turns out it's "like a drum, baby, don't stop beating."  The real lyrics are much better. ;)  His 15-second smile after the song seems genuine.  Woo, actual personality!

--- Heh at two guys' "Phil-lip Phil-lips" sports chant.

--- Wish “Alive Again” and “Unpack Your Heart” had jams.

--- “Where We Came From” had a jam at the end and this cool spoken-word rap thing, so it's much better.

--- Ooh, dark mood beginning: promising.  “Trigger”!!  Abrupt ending, but by far the best of the night.  Mounting tension the whole time and a strong vocal. The jam wasn’t the excitement; it added to the excitement.

--- Quote from the girl next to me: “Maybe Phillip doesn’t know he’s mumbling?”  The natural followup: does his manager?

--- Apparently a cover of Peter Gabriel's “Digging in the Dirt.”  Which he does not explain to the crowd.  Love the extended clapping drum solo though.  And how during it, some guy went "Let's Go O's."

--- “Home”!!   The only way to end the show, the only good coronation song in American Idol history.  Totally worthy of the whistle it got from a guy in the bathroom after the show.

Grade: B