For those who came to Downtown San Jose on June 3, large crowds, food vendors and drinking parties awaited them as a staple of downtown summer life got underway.
The 22nd season of Music in the Park, sponsored by Dos Equis and Metro newspapers, got underway with a bang. The music series, set to go all summer, will feature free concerts every Thursday evening from 5:30 p.m. for the next 13 weeks with music being sponsored by local radio stations in the area including KFOX, Channel 92.3 and Mix 106.5.
Three bands graced the stage at Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park in the first installment of the series.
San Jose’s own Ambience, winners of Channel 92.3’s “My Music In the Park” contest, took the stage to a crowd of a few hundred. Their set was short, but it more than showed why they are a band to watch as they tour. Their setlist included “Pilgrimage,” “Two Mouths One Head” and their single being heard on local stations “Never Alone.” Eric Carlos and Kayhan Golkar, vocals and bass respectively, said that it was awesome to play for their hometown crowd and to open up Music In the Park.
Jesse Malin & The St. Marks Social, out of New York City, took the stage second in this evening of auditory awesomeness. They provided a nice “rock interlude” between the bookends of Ambience and Cold War Kids. Malin and company sounded great with their tunes rolling on one after the other. Talking with the crowd took place, but very sparsely, so that they could squeeze a good number of songs in. Some of the highlights from their set included “Wendy,” a song about, as Malin puts it, “being in love with someone who’s fucked up” and a cover of the Replacements “Bastards of Young.”
After Malin and his band ended their set, the crowd became much larger. Trying to find that unobstructed view, devoid of freakishly tall people in front to block your view was a little tricky. But right around 7:45 p.m., DJ Mega Tanner from Channel 92.3 took to the stage to thank sponsors and to introduce the headliners for the night. Repeatedly, Tanner, who has the energy of a 5-year-old, told the crowd to “move closer.” When the crowd failed to react, Tanner reiterated his point, adding, “didn’t you hear me the first time?”
Cold War Kids came on to take those in attendance on a journey through their catalog of songs, consisting of both hits and more obscure tracks. They opened up with “I’ve Seen Enough,” a song whose opening line “how’s it gonna feel when summer ends?” had me looking ahead to what will become of all of us when summer ends, when it’s barely only gotten into the swing of things.
Nathan Willett, Matt Maust, Jonnie Russell and Matt Alveiro powered through songs, from their 2006 album “Robbers and Cowards” to 2008’s “Loyalty to Loyalty” and 2010’s “Behave Yourself” EP. They were in fine form, even with the occasional audio feedback problems, but those got resolved soon enough. The apex of the show, from the vantage point of the audience, came when the instrumental beginning for “Something Is Not Right With Me” begin. The crowd let out a roar as Willett broke out into the song in the funky, soulful way only he knows how. All told, Cold War Kids gave the audience over 15 songs to delight in as they enjoyed the warm San Jose evening.
Sharon Casey, 24, thought the show was really good, but found a few things that could have made it even better. “I feel like they could have addressed the audience a little more throughout their set,” Casey said. “They moved quickly through their set, but other than that, it was a really good show and they [Cold War Kids} sounded good.”
The next show will be June 17 featuring reggae music from Skatalites and Sarazino sponsored by Movin 99.7.
For a complete list of upcoming Music in the Park shows and other activities over the summer, and during the year, in and around San Jose, go to http://www.sjdowntown.com.
