Are you ready for the hottest reviews in the world?! This week’s selection of concert reviews features writeups of KISS in Irving, Texas; Scorpions in West Valley City, Utah; Nas and Ms. Lauryn Hill in Sugar Land, Texas; Paramore in Los Angeles; and Seu Jorge in Portland, Maine.
Mohegan Sun / Khoi Ton – Paul Stanley of KISS
Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Conn.
KISS @ Toyota Music Factory in Irving, Texas, Sept. 27 – “Their makeup helps hide some wrinkles, and the members of KISS still hold up as performers. All of the band members are now in their late-50s or older. Simmons is the oldest — he recently celebrated his 68th birthday — but he continues to rock the way he did in the ’80s, dancing and jumping across the stage.” – Jesus Jimenez / Dallas Observer
Scorpions @ USANA Amphitheatre in West Valley City, Utah, Sept. 25 – “The Scorpions still put on an invigorating live show, keeping fans on their feet and engaged throughout the entire concert, and there’s really no telling how long they’ll be able to ride it out. Right now, there is no finish line in sight.” – Kari Kenner / Daily Herald
Vilhelm Stokstad / TT via AP – Lauryn Hill
“Stockholm Music & Arts,” Skeppsholmen, Stockholm, Sweden
Nas / Ms. Lauryn Hill @ Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land in Sugar Land, Texas, Sept. 27 – “Throughout the night, Hill directed her band from the stage, either letting the audience know that everything was to seem like a jam session or that rehearsal at times didn’t matter. As long as the vocals were there, Hill felt fine. …
“Nas’ live performance is effortlessly cool these days. He allows gaps in verses for fans to fill in, and plays opera music and Spanish fly to lead in his own records. He may not have a better energy record than ‘Hate Me Now,’ led in of course by the biblical sounds of Carl Orff’s ‘O Fortuna.’” – Brandon Caldwell / Houston Press
Paramore @ Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, Calif., Sept. 26 – “During several speeches amid their two-hour, career-spanning set, Williams often tells the crowd that this is not about her, or her six-piece live band, the lineup of which has seen more than its fair amount of changes (Williams calls it the “soap opera” of Paramore). This is about our community here. All the talk of whether or not a band built on teen angst could grow with their audience and become an adult concern is battered to a pulp by this live outing.” – Eve Barlow / LA Weekly
Seu Jorge @ State Theatre in Portland, Maine, Sept. 24 – “Monday night’s Seu Jorge show at The State Theatre was many things at once: a riveting concert, an homage to David Bowie and a live introduction to a musician many have been enamored with since 2004, thanks to the Wes Anderson film ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.’ . …
“Moments of grief for Bowie were palpable throughout the audience a few times, but it was mostly a love fest of his songs, done Samba-style by a shining Brazilian star.” – Aimsel Ponti / Portland Press Herald