JP Saxe Lights Up the Stage at SLC's The Complex
JP Saxe’s performance at The Complex in Salt Lake City was the day after his Birthday, and was surprised with the audience singing “Happy Birthday” and a large card that some fans made for him. He goes on to discuss how he had to remind himself not to go all out at his last show because the Salt Lake City show was the last show of the tour and he couldn’t wear him self out on the second to last show. Before continuing on with the show he told all of the audience that they are invited to his birthday party.
It is known that during concerts, performers work on their transitions to make sure that the show is seamless and allows for the best experience. JP Saxe explains this and how he is not supposed to interrupt the transitions because of the timeline of the show, meaning if he were to interrupt the show multiple times, it would go over which could cause issues with the venue. Though he mentions that he was not supposed to interrupt transitions, he would interrupt them anyways to explain the backstories of songs, talk to the audience about who relates to the song, or more often than not he would go on a tangent. These hilarious disturbances would be followed by JP Saxe saying something along the lines of “remember before I started talking about this story there was that cool little sound that went like mneeerrr and I was all mysterious with the dark lights? Go back to that feeling.” He then sticks a pose before getting back into the mode he was in for the previous transition.
This was one of my favorite parts of the show. His personality is infectious and so much fun to be around. He also mentioned that he often forgets the difference between in internal dialogue and external dialogue. JP Saxe is so relatable and has an infectious attitude. Some of the tangents that he made were discussions about Pangea and a new word called cuddle-ocracy. The audience at this show was incredibly supportive and were completely involved in every tangent in the show.
Jazzy riffs and belting his lyrics is another form of therapy for his fans. One of his pieces of advice to the rest of us was to pay attention to what people will tease and make fun of you for because that could end up being what maxes your life the most beautiful and successful; in his case he would get bullied for being ginger, a choir kid, and sensitive for these all being his strengths as an artist.
The lights, sounds system, and overall performance was amazing and well timed. The stage was decorated and structured to resemble a home. Pictures were hung, there were chairs that were used for relaxed moments in the show where there was more talking or little solos on various instruments. Various lamps on the stage lit up on beat and would change color depending on the mood of each song.
Review & Photos by: Miriam Wasden
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