This past weekend, I had the pleasure of being in the audience for the Jonas Brothers’ final “Greetings From Your Hometown” Samsung TV Plus livestream recorded at the KeyBank Center arena. The night was a celebration of fandom—new fans and day ones alike.
DJ Deleasa got the party started at around 7:30 p.m. Despite fans still arriving, those who were already seated quickly became lively. Deleasa played new age pop hits like “Good Luck Babe,” “Beautiful Things,” and “Messy” as well as timeless classics like “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “Sweet Caroline.” To add to the hype, the DJ threw branded baseball caps and t-shirts into the crowd throughout his set.
Unfortunately, shortly before the concert, it was announced that The All-American Rejects would not be taking the stage due to illness. Despite the absence of the tour’s main opener, the audience was treated with a 25-minute set from the headliners’ brother, Franklin Jonas, as opposed to his usual 15-minute set.
Franklin Jonas and The Byzantines opened their set with “Road Soda” and left audience members who were unfamiliar with Franklin’s work taken aback, including me and my companion for the night, Ashley Stockmeyer. In an effort to leave Buffalo with a special treat, the “Bonus Jonas” performed a rendition of The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” and brought the room to its feet. The rest of their set featured “Oasis” and “Theodore.”
As fans were gearing up for the Jonas Brothers to finally take the stage, we were given the unique experience of getting to see behind the livestream curtains. The band’s musical director took the stage and gave the crowd of background actors our instructions. He bantered with the audience about our applause and our dance moves before revealing that Franklin Jonas would be coming back out on stage to host the livestream as well as play one more song.
When the clock struck 8:30 p.m., the livestream began, and the audience roared for Franklin Jonas’ return as he performed an unreleased song entitled “Break The Levy.” After the performance, a lucky fan was brought on stage to share the story of how listening to and watching the Jonas Brothers helped her learn English, and was then gifted with introducing the band.
At 8:45 p.m., the Jonas Brothers finally hit the KeyBank stage. While their opening song changes for each show, no one was expecting the trio to begin the set with their 2019 holiday single “Like It’s Christmas,” validating all of us who have the tree up at 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 1 every year. The group continued the night with “Love Me to Heaven,” “Only Human,” “Mirror to the Sky,” “S.O.S,” and “Sucker” before interacting with a couple in the audience that requested Joe Jonas reveal the gender of their baby. As Joe took the enclosed envelope from the couple, the brothers began performing their song “Little Bird,” which talks about their fatherhood. When the song ended, all the stage lights turned pink as Joe announced the couple would be having a girl.
A little after 9 p.m., the acoustic song request segment of the night began. Typically, during this portion of the show, the brothers scan the audience for signs made by the fans. Often, audience members craft creative games for Joe, Nick, and Kevin to play in order to pick between three songs they’ve preselected for them. The first audience member tasked Joe with a game of “Song Pong.” Whichever cup he was able to sink the ball into would reveal the song request. On the first try, Joe sank the ball into the left cup, which corresponded to one of Nick’s solo songs entitled “Chainsaw.” I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to those around me in the section I was seated in for my involuntary visceral reaction to Nick agreeing to play the song.
In true Buffalo fashion, the next fan chosen tasked Joe with picking between Bills players Josh Allen, James Cook, and Matt Milano. After a few moments of consideration amongst the brothers, they unanimously decided that Josh Allen was the obvious choice. Thanks to the quarterback, the audience got the pleasure of hearing “Tonight” from the group’s third studio album.
To close out the fan request segment, Joe called out a fan who had a sign dedicated to Kevin’s upcoming solo debut single, “Changing,” followed by Kevin performing said song. As someone who proclaimed that she was legally married to Kevin Jonas at the age of three, many tears were shed.
Jumping back into their regular set, the Jonas Brothers threw it back with “Play My Music” from their hit Disney Channel movie “Camp Rock.” The group followed with “Waffle House,” “Vacation Eyes,” “Celebrate!,” and “No Time to Talk.”
Then, Joe and Nick’s solo careers were given a chance to shine when Joe performed “Cake by the Ocean” with his fellow DNCE band members, followed by Nick performing his hit song “Jealous.” Before treating the audience to a special surprise, the brothers performed “What a Man Gotta Do.”
Throughout the “Greetings From Your Hometown” tour, the Jonas Brothers have brought out artists that have inspired them, they’ve worked with, and they’re friends with as special guests. Buffalo was fortunate enough to have the new artist, Absolutely, as our special guest. After performing Joe’s favorite song of hers, “I Just Don’t Know You Yet,” the trio asked her to join them in performing their song “Walls.”
With the band’s holiday project “A Very Jonas Christmas Movie” coming out on Friday, they performed their new song entitled “Coming Home This Christmas” as fake snow fell from the rafters, and the screens were decked out in holiday lights.
As the show was coming to a close, the group sang “Backwards,” “Lovebug,” “Leave Before You Love Me,” “Year 3000,” and brought out former bodyguard Big Rob for “Burnin’ Up.”
The brothers ran off the stage with Big Rob before returning in all black outfits for the encore. In a very heartfelt moment, the brothers performed the first song they ever wrote together, “Please Be Mine.” After sharing a wholesome story about their music-oriented family and singing around the piano together during their childhood, their father and Franklin joined them for the final song of the night, “When You Look Me in the Eyes.”
This was the seventh Jonas Brothers concert I’ve attended in my lifetime, and Ashley’s first. As a lifelong fan and a newcomer, we both had the utmost fun. I hope the Jonas Brothers return to Buffalo soon.
