Brothers showcase sound over spectacle at Comcast Center
MANSFIELD — The Jonas Brothers didn’t put on the same level of spectacle as in previous concerts when they opened their two-night stand at the Comcast Center. But even stripped of the flash, the band showed their music is substantial enough to captivate.
The Wednesday evening concert brought joy of thousands of preteen girls in attendance, as well as their mothers.
Opening act Demi Lovato is on tour with the Jonases to promote Disney’s “Camp Rock 2,” and the set list reflected that. Joe played a game with Nick, challenging him to sing “Introducing Me” off the movie soundtrack in under 2 minutes and 15 seconds, and Joe and Demi sang “Wouldn’t Change a Thing” together, but the music from the movie was less impressive than the artists’ other work.
Dedicated fans were able to test their Jonas knowledge when the brothers ran through clips of older songs, starting with “Time for Me to Fly” from their first album.
The trio showed themselves to be aware of their young audience and Disney-pop image when they exchanged banter for a few minutes while trying, unsuccessfully, to pick a song of theirs they could categorize as “deep.” “‘Burning Up’s’ pretty deep,” Kevin joked.
They managed to elicit “deep” emotions when they played “Please be Mine,” announcing it as the first song they ever wrote. On huge screens behind them played a slideshow of family pictures, showing them growing up. The song was barely audible behind the screams that rose up to accompany each adorable baby picture.
Then came “Lovebug,” a song so toned down and sincere it’s hard to believe it’s not a cover. The “Camp Rock” dancers came on set and, with more than a nod to the “Lovebug” music video, twirled around the stage in ’40s inspired costume.
The first hour of the brothers’ set employed minimal theatrics. It was only at the close of the show, when “Lovebug” broke into a rock ballad and paper rose petals shot down from the ceiling, that the concert became the grandiose affair expected of a group that acts as the face of Disney.
“SOS” and “Burning Up” closed the show, and as the audience made one last frenzied push to the stage, the brothers bid farewell in a characteristically goofy manner. The clean, quick-moving performance left little room for improvisation, and it was hard to tell, as Kevin and Nick pushed Joe in front of a closing partition, leaving him trapped on stage, to what degree their interactions were choreographed.
Alyson Stoner led the audience through three barely sufferable singles off the “Camp Rock” soundtrack before introducing Lovato. She distinguished herself from Disney with her solo material, strutting around the stage in a short feathered dress and leather boots and belting out songs about heartbreak like “Get Back” and “Remember December.”
But when she went back into “Camp Rock” mode, marked by a change into a decorous flowered sundress, the songs became unmemorable, just a stream of flashy dance moves and face-spanning smiles. The show started to seem like an elaborate commercial when Lovato asked the audience to chant the premiere date of “Camp Rock 2.