With Trainor sitting out, OneRepublic, Fradiani, Bay impress at Sun concert
Let’s get the sad fact out of the way first: Meghan Trainor, who was scheduled to headline the 96.5 TIC All Star Christmas concert Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena, didn’t. She announced on Instagram Thursday morning that she was put on vocal rest by a doctor and had to cancel all her shows over the next few weeks.
It’s not the first time the “All About That Bass” singer-songwriter has run into that kind of issue. She had to postpone concerts in the summer of 2015, including a July 4 show at Mohegan Sun, because of a hemorrhage on her vocal cord, and then, in August, she had to cancel her entire tour to get surgery.
In any case, while Trainor had to sit it out, the show did go on Thursday. The line-up: OneRepublic, James Bay, Lindsey Stirling, and Nick Fradiani.
“American Idol” winner and Guilford native Fradiani was a late addition, asked to join in after Trainor dropped out. He was arguably the revelation of the night, displaying a relaxed, engaging persona and a Rob Thomas-ish, arena-ready voice that both make more of an impression in a live setting than they ever did on “Idol.” And he’s funny! In a nod to Trainor, Fradiani did a funked-up, improvised-lyrics version of “All About That Bass.”
He, of course, noted his Connecticut roots. He said at the start of his opening-the-show set, “It’s good to be home,” and he acknowledged his extended family in the audience.
So, sure, we all know Fradiani is a local boy made good. But did you know that, when he was growing up, OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder spent many summers in Mystic? His family on his mother’s side had a place here for ages, he told Thursday’s arena crowd. And to prove his Mystic bona fides, he busted out some allusions, including a reference to the now-defunct Bee Bee’s Dairy.
As a performer, Tedder made for a vital frontman. Tedder was a force of energy onstage, clearly a performer who believes in working hard to give the audience a money’s-worth show. Why not jump on top of the piano? Why not step down from the stage to stride among the concert-goers? He did it all.
Away from his OneRepublic duties, Tedder is a hit-making writer and producer for other artists, so he knows his way around crafting a song. No wonder OneRepublic’s proudly anthemic tunes are rather irresistible.
Tedder’s singing showed elastic range Thursday, especially on “Apologize,” where he accompanied himself on piano and let his voice trail up to high-altitude notes. And in the midst of “Apologize,” he segued seamlessly into James Bay’s “Let It Go” and later into Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me.” The songs melded beautifully together.
And Tedder, like Fradiani, displayed a frisky sense of humor. In a serious mode, he referenced Trainor, noting how damaging vocal cord issues can be — and then he got cheeky and recited a bit of Trainor’s “No.” But my favorite comic line of Tedder’s was this: When introducing OneRepublic’s “Stop and Stare,” he joked, “If you’ve shopped in a Whole Foods, you’ve heard this.”
If Tedder was the master showman of the night and Fradiani was the surprise, James Bay was the cool dude. The British singer-songwriter exuded a hip vibe and an itchy intensity onstage. He pumped his leg as he sang and played guitar, all with a swagger that hearkened back to an early-rock era. Naturally, he wore his trademark look — fedora pulled over his long hair, framing those sharp cheekbones.
Bay’s voice was strong on a set list that leaned on an edgier sound than fans of his delicate ballad “Let It Go” might expect. That was all to the good, as he and his band rocked the joint. A highlight: he went for a river two-fer when he performed “Proud Mary (Rolling on the River)” and then his own “Hold Back the River.”
Someone, though, should tell Bay (and other performers who do this) that haranguing audience members to stand up and clap along isn’t the way to go. It’s an entertainer’s job to inspire the crowd to do that, not to try to shame them into it.
The discordant performance note of the nearly-four-hour night was Lindsey Stirling. She plays the violin as she dances, and while her instrumental work shone, her perpetual movement felt too self-consciously theatrical. Stirling, outfitted in a sparkly leotard with the modern equivalent of a bustle, was backed by a keyboard player and drummer, and the bombastic sound and the overwrought light show all felt very Trans-Siberian Orchestra. A little of that went a long way.
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.