Richard Marx live!
Richard Marx, Matt Scannell
Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire
Monday, June 23, 2008
“You have to make sure a hometown show is great because chances are you’ll run into some people who were there at Starbucks the next morning,” joked Richard Marx during an unplugged storytellers set just a few miles from his North Shore residence.
Though the one-time background singer may have never earned many critical kudos, he was still greeted by a fervent following, plus plenty of family members. Wife Cynthia Rhodes (Dirty Dancing actress and former Animotion frontwoman) could be seen just a few rows from the stage, and his kids (whom Dad affectionately called “The Marx Brothers”) weren’t that far behind.
As a result, the evening felt like an intimate trip to the Marx living room with the curious company of Vertical Horizon singer Matt Scannell. The two longtime friends (who met nearly a decade ago) split vocal and acoustic guitar duties for the next two-plus hours, sitting in on each other’s songs and even debuting a handful of collaborative tunes from the self-released Duo.
The set list started with the familiarity factor of Marx’s pleasantly nostalgic “Endless Summer Nights,” Horizon’s college rocker “You’re A God,” and the former’s contemplative ballad “Now And Forever.” It was a fairly serious introduction that quickly turned comical as a male heckler said he had a crush on Scannell, who took the unexpected comment in stride by dedicating the romantic “Sunshine” to the outspoken suitor. The new “Always On Your Mind” updated both artists’ sound, coming across as a punchy, hook-heavy popper, flanked by the force of dual strumming.
Yet Marx mixed up the instrumentation by playing piano during Scannell’s underrated and haunting ballad “Give You Back,” returning to the same position for his yet-to-be-released “Through My Veins” (bathed in a swelling, Coldplay-tipped spotlight). Despite Horizon’s monster hit “Everything You Want” lacking the full band layer, it was actually much more urgent than the overplayed radio rendition, while Marx’s “Don’t Mean Nothing” was rearranged to include bluesy riffs, but was still sung in the ultra-high original key.
Even so, the generous set wasn’t without its flaws, such as Scannell’s annoyingly repetitive “Echo” and Marx’s especially soggy “When November Falls.” An encore version of U2’s “One” was unremarkable and completely unneeded, not just because the band are one of the most frequently covered acts on the planet, but Marx has enough material to mine (and he didn’t even touch 1997’s Flesh And Bone, 2000’s Days In Avalon, or 2004’s My Own Best Enemy).
The other remake on the docket was “Summer Of ’69,” though just a single verse and chorus were performed in jest as Marx noted a concertgoer in Canada recently shouted out the request, confusing him with Bryan Adams. But the ability to poke fun at himself was soon suspended by the obligatory finale “Right Here Waiting,” which thankfully didn’t sound like that overblown retro prom ballad and transformed into an almost folk-flavored sing-along. Though Marx and Scannell aren’t reinventing the singer-songwriter wheel, they’re breaking up the predictability that might permeate their solo sets and are gelling surprisingly well.
— Andy Argyrakis
Category: Live Reviews, Weekly
