Concert Review: Alex Band, July 19, 2010, San Francisco, CA

Alex Band kicked off his first solo tour last week, and touched down at San Francisco’s Cafe Du Nord on July 19 for what the singer called, “an intimate, underground” show.

Band took to the stage a little after 9 p.m., kicking off his set with the title track of his album, We’ve All Been There.

There are some artists, that when they play live they sound nothing like their vocal on their album. This is not the case with Band. His live vocal is stunning. The deep and rich sound that you hear on his album is what you hear and then some, after hearing Band play live.

Band proved to be quite the showman, while expressing emotion during songs, “Please” and “Never Let You Go.” He’s a great interpreter of his lyrics, it allowed the crowd to get a sense of the emotion he was projecting while performing.

For good measure, there were songs from The Calling weaved appropriately throughout Band’s set. It was “Adrienne,” a song that Band had written when he was younger, that got the crowd moving and singing-a-long. Toward the end of the song, the band as a whole had an impressive and energetic jam session, resulting in Band tossing his guitar pick out into the crowd in true rock star fashion.

A highlight of the night was Band’s acoustic performance of “Leave (Today Is The Day).” Playing the song acoustically made the lyrical content feel even more honest and sincere.

He switched over from acoustic to rockin’, performing the popular, “Why Don’t You & I” and “Without You,” which Bad referred to as “the most rockin’ song on the album.” Both songs sounded fantastic. Band got to show off his tremendous rock vocals on both songs.

As his set was coming to a close, Band performed “Wherever You Will Go,” the phenomenal hit that put The Calling on the map. The performance garnered a huge response from the crowd, who cheered for more when the song ended.

Band kicked off his encore with his current single, “Tonight.” He closed out the night with what Band called a “sexy song,” his second single “Will Not Back Down.” Band told the crowd that a music video for the new single is on the way.

If you want to listen to some good music and have an entertaining time, I recommend checking out Band’s tour. The set list alone is reason enough to go. The songs all flow together really well. Band has the showmanship, personality and swagger that pulls off his solo show quite nicely.

For more information on Alex Band, including upcoming tour dates, check out his website. Band’s album, We’ve All Been There is out now.

Check out Band’s performance of “Wherever You Will Go” from the San Francisco show below.