There is a Canadian teeny-bop star called Lights. I personally wasn't aware of this fact until I saw a concert listing for Jets Overhead as the opening band for the aforementioned teen sensation. I'm sure Lights is very good for the demographic she reaches, but I wasn't able to make it through more than 30 seconds of her music when I checked it out on myspace.

All this to say that when I walked to the concert venue (fittingly, a renovated High School) I wasn't entirely shocked to see a line-up of kids ranging approximately from age eleven to seventeen ...and almost entirely female. I was slightly disturbed that this line up had already formed 2 hours before the doors were set to open - and I didn't have a ticket.

I knew the show had already sold out through traditional ticket venues, however I got a tip from the promoter (Legendary Ottawa figurehead Shawn Scallen) that there would be approximately 30 tickets sold at the door. Luckily, the mob of teen-aged hipstrettes came in handy; I managed to convince a couple of over-trusting Lights fans to save a place for me in line while I went home to change and eat some dinner. I'm not sure if it was just my sincere face or if I reminded them of their father, but my place near the front of the line was guaranteed.

Context here is important, because if you have ever listened to Jets Overhead, the words "adult contemporary", "soft alternative rock" or "boring" might come to mind. Waiting for the band to take the stage in the even more fitting high-school-auditorium-turned-concert-hall, I was positive that this young crowd would absolutely crucify my favourite western Canadian soft rock troupe.




Strangely enough, the exact opposite occurred. The high-pitched reception to Jets Overhead was ear-piercingly positive. In retrospect, I imagine this might have had something to do with that youthful rush they must have been experiencing after having their parents agree to drive them downtown (and presumably pick them up) on a Friday night.

The 27 year olds in the audience (count: Me.) were much less enthused. Jets Overhead had the following cons against them:

- I hate to say it, but they are one of the ugliest bands I have in recent memory.
- Most of the band didn't seem entirely interested in being there, not that I can blame them.
- The lead singer/guitar player....

...I'm going to have to elaborate on this one. Allow me to state first and foremost that I had never seen Jets Overhead before this show, nor had I watched any live footage or even seen any pictures of the members. Adam Kittredge fronts the band in one of the truest examples of Wahjah ever witnessed. (for those not familiar with the concept of Wahjah, think "embarrassment by proxy") Picture any Will Ferrel movie character and make him sincere. Take A.C. Newman and now imagine he doesn't know he's a nerd. Try a combination of Danny Tanner from Full House and ....Uncle Jesse from Full House. I wish I was joking.

If Kittredge was intentionally showing off for the younger crowd, he was doing it with all the hipness of a christian youth camp counselor. Complete with airplane motions and "pretend my guitar is a gun" rock staples, it was an uncomfortable gaze-averting occasion to behold.

Which is a downright shame because acoustically, the band played every song, hit every beat, and sang every note with compelling expertise. If there was a blind person in the audience, he was surely loving every second.

As a matter of fact, none of my complaints seemed to phase the fun-loving kids that dominated the audience, and the clapping and cheering continued throughout Jets Overhead's set. And maybe that is all that matters, or maybe the music is all that matters, or maybe this just means I have become a hard-to-please pessimist in my critical adulthood.

At any rate, I would still very much recommend seeing Jets Overhead; but try not to look directly at them.

3/5.

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