( #JackJohnson, #Philadelphia, #Camden )
Main Event: Jack Johnson
Opening Act: G Love
Date: Sunday, July 11th 2010
Location: Camden, NJ (Susquehanna Bank Center)
[Opening Act]
I can’t say one thing about G Love because I completely missed his performance. My wife and I left our house at 6:00 PM for the 7:00 PM show (we live about 20 minutes from Camden). Everything was smooth until we got about 1/3 of mile to the Camden Entertainment Complex exit (5A); we were stuck there for the next 100 minutes. It took another 20 minutes to get forced into a $25 parking lot.
As you could imagine I was pretty pissed off getting into the concert, but thankfully I didn’t have to wait in line to get into the show.
[Main Event]
I have never seen the Camden Entertainment Complex (it’s called the Susquehanna bank center but this place changes names every 18 months, so screw it) so packed. The lawn area was an absolute sea of people (this show was definitely oversold). There was no room to put down blankets. This was one massive standing room only concert. In addition to the crowds, the PA for the lawn area was underpowered. You could hear the music, but not well (you don’t normally read me complaining a concert was too low).
Overall, Johnson sounded really good (like he always does). He put on an earnest yet laid back show. G Love came out to jam on a few songs (I was glad I got to see him play). Jack’s band was very good tonight; especially his multi-instrumentalist (mainly keyboard instruments). I don’t know the guy’s name, but he made slower songs like “Banana Pancakes” pop.
To be honest, we cut out at 11 PM because we were terrified of getting stuck for another two hours in Camden and it was so tight on the lawn that you couldn’t scratch your eye without elbowing somebody in the back. While I am a little annoyed at the concert conditions, Johnson is donating all profits from the tour to charity, so I felt good about my money going to good causes.
I keep saying it, but I really do think I am done with the big concert venue shows and any kind of open seating situation: they are expensive, the sound is usually not great, and there are ALWAYS a small group (or pockets) of people that ruin the show for everyone else.
Here’s hoping Johnson does a winter tour in small venues!
