Jonas Brothers sidestep divorce drama in hit-filled Phoenix show, from 'S.O.S.' to 'Sucker'
It’s been four years since “Happiness Begins” found fans who cut their teeth on “S.O.S.” and “Year 3000” welcoming the reunited Jonas Brothers back with open arms and shrieks of eardrum-piercing joy.
That album’s five-times-platinum comeback single, “Sucker,” topped the Billboard Hot 100, the “Camp Rock” veterans’ first release to do so.
That reunion tour drew sold-out crowds to huge arenas.
Four years later, that enthusiasm showed no signs of waning as the Jonas Brothers made their entrance in a puff of smoke while rising from beneath the Y-shaped Footprint Center stage on Wednesday, Sept. 6, to open yet another sold-out show in downtown Phoenix with a call to “Celebrate!”
And they've rewarded that enthusiasm with a tour designed to take those faithful fans through several stages of nostalgia without skimping on the new material.
The crowd went especially wild when Nick Jonas referenced "Camp Rock" and their short-lived Disney Channel series "Jonas" (which was rebranded "Jonas L.A." in its second season).
I am personally saddened to report that "Pizza Girl" was not on Wednesday's setlist.
Jonas Brothers 2023 setlist: Every song they played at their marathon Phoenix concert
The Jonas Brothers are playing five albums in one night on 2023 tour
Kevin, Joe and Nick are playing all five albums they've released since 2007, the year they broke through with a self-titled power-pop classic on Hollywood Records, which somehow feels as ageless as the Jonas Brothers look.
It would be weird to not compare this show to Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour, at least in passing.
Having done that, it’s worth noting that they didn’t really dust off every song from all five albums.
But they managed to squeeze in a strong representative sample of each record’s charms in an action-packed, nearly three-hour performance, flying through highlights of some of those songs in a series of crowd-pleasing medleys.
By the time they hit that nine-song medley during the section devoted to “A Little Bit Longer,” their first release to top the charts, I was convinced they could edit together a Super Bowl Halftime Show performance fit to make a person wonder why Rihanna couldn’t find a way to work in a couple more songs.
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Jonas Brothers tour hits Phoenix a day after Joe Jonas files for divorce
A day before the Jonas Brothers hit the stage in downtown Phoenix, Joe Jonas filed for divorce from British actress Sophie Turner, his wife of four years with whom he has two daughters.
There are those who may be wondering if he wore his wedding ring, as he’d done Sunday night in Austin, Texas, hours after TMZ reported that Jonas and Turner were headed for divorce.
He wore no wedding ring in Phoenix.
Anyone looking for signs that the former teen heartthrob was feeling especially vulnerable in the wake of his fractured relationship becoming tabloid fodder could point to several instances where he seemed a bit up in his feelings.
Is it possible that he seemed a good deal more emotional than usual on “Little Bird,” a song he introduced as being about parenting? It’s a pretty emotional song regardless of the state of one’s relationship.
“Sorry” is another song that felt a bit close to the bone as he pleaded, “I'm sorry for breaking all the promises that I wasn't around to keep.”
But it’s also entirely possible that “Sorry” would’ve felt the same if we had no idea what was going on behind closed doors.
The Jonas Brothers catalog is full of songs about relationships. And their success is based in part on their ability to put those songs across in such a way that the emotion of their lyrics hits you squarely in the feels.
Overall, Joe Jonas seemed to be in decent spirits and played the role of a mid-30s Tiger Beat, Bop and/or J-14 pinup with requisite swagger and utter conviction, prowling the catwalk with feral abandon on “Cake by the Ocean" in his leather pants.
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Nick Jonas glad to 'be back in the birthplace of my favorite person'
His brothers definitely had his back. The concert started with a group hug. And early in the set, Nick Jonas told the crowd, “It is so, so good to be back in the birthplace of my favorite person in the entire world, Joseph Adam Jonas.”
Joe Jonas was born in Casa Grande, Arizona, but the family had settled in New Jersey by the time he formed the Jonas Brothers with Kevin and Nick.
“Now listen,” Nick continued, “tonight, we’d like to embark on a journey that goes back almost 20 years. It started with some of the music you just heard from the first album, of not one, not two, three, four, but five albums that we are playing for you tonight.”
For all the celebrity drama surrounding the timing of this particular moment in their history, the concert worked best as a celebration of the Jonas Brothers’ legacy, charting their growth from the effervescent power-pop of their earliest hits through the soul-clapping splendor of “Sucker” to the highlights of their latest effort.
They even found time to re-explore their solo efforts, with Nick Jonas taking the spotlight on “Jealous” and Joe Jonas knocking it out of the park while revisiting “Cake by the Ocean,” a disco-funk gem by his side project, DNCE.
Joe and Nick Jonas were in amazing voice throughout
Joe and Nick were both in brilliant voice throughout, especially when venturing into their falsetto range, at times recalling an earlier brother act, the Bee Gees.
Kevin Jonas doesn’t get that kind of vocal spotlight in the context of a Jonas Brothers show. And yet, he feels increasingly essential to the concept of the Jonas Brothers, an energetic force of nature with his own brand of charisma.
The crowd reaction to the hits from their self-titled breakthrough was euphoric, as expected, and it never really leveled out. The rousing singalongs continued as they made their way through each successive chapter in their story, even the album Nick introduced with “I know you view loving this album as a badge of honor," 2009’s “Lines, Vines and Trying Times.”
In the end, it all comes down to the connection they’ve been nurturing with their fan base all along.
As Nick said, “Throughout this entire journey, you have been peers, going through some of the same life experiences. And so, while these are our songs and our stories, please note that these are just as much yours as they are ours. And whether you are a lifelong OG Jonas Brothers fan or this is your first Jonas Brothers concert, it doesn’t matter. Welcome to the family. We’re so happy to have you.”
And that, my friend, is just the way they roll.
Jonas Brothers 2023 setlist: Every song they played in Phoenix
Here’s every song the Jonas Brothers played at Footprint Center in Phoenix.
Intro
"Celebrate!"
"What a Man Gotta Do"
'Jonas Brothers'
"S.O.S."
"Hold On"
"Goodnight and Goodbye"
"That's Just the Way We Roll"
"Still in Love With You" / "Australia" / "Hollywood" / "Just Friends" / "Games"
"Hello Beautiful" / "Inseparable" / "Take a Breath"
"When You Look Me in the Eyes"
"Year 3000"
'The Album'
"Summer Baby"
"Vacation Eyes"
"Sail Away"
"Little Bird"
'A Little Bit Longer'
"A Little Bit Longer"
"Can't Have You" / "Sorry" / "BB Good" / "Shelf" / "Got Me Going Crazy" / "Video Girl" / "One Man Show" / "Pushin' Me Away" / "Tonight"
"Lovebug"
"Burnin' Up"
'The Album' continued
"Waffle House"
"Montana Sky"
"Miracle"
'Lines, Vines and Trying Times'
"Fly With Me"
"Hey Baby" / "Poison Ivy" / "Don't Speak" / "Much Better" / "World War III" / "What Did I Do to Your Heart" / "Paranoid"
"Turn Right" / "Gotta Find You" / "Black Keys"
Side project songs
"Jealous"
"Cake by the Ocean"
"Walls"
'Happiness Begins'
"Comeback" / "Rollercoaster" / "Strangers" / "Used to Be"
"Cool"
"Trust" / "Every Single Time" / "Happy When I'm Sad" / "Don't Throw It Away"
"Love Her" / "Hesitate"
"I Believe"
"Only Human"
"Sucker"
Encore
"Leave Before You Love Me"
Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-4495. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @EdMasley.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Jonas Brothers sidestep divorce drama in hit-filled Phoenix concert
