Aaron Lewis
by Valerie Oxford
posted 2007-01-18

January 13th 2007 - Pechanga Theatre

A unique solo acoustic concert, that's what the billboard on the 91 freeway said as I drove past it every night on the way home from work. I didn't know much about Aaron Lewis other than he is the lead singer of Staind, a band with a taste of 80's hard rock, 90's grunge and current alternative rock sounds. I was intrigued by the prospect of hearing how this would translate into a solo acoustic show, so I had to go check it out.

The concert was at the Pechanga Casino in Temecula. If you like a small venue with an intimate setting, you will love the Pechanga Theatre. It seats only 1200 and every seat in the house is a good seat. I sat in the mezzanine section, center, about 6 rows from the back, but that was still only about 20 rows from the stage. You could be sitting in the very last row and not need to watch the big screens because you can see the stage clearly.

There was an interesting dynamic to the audience that night. The younger kids with their sideways baseball hats and older rockers with beer in hand. A teenager with his mom, slumped down in his seat like he doesn't want to be seen with her in front of all the girls, and the woman in her 40's, trying to look like she's 20 again and not quite pulling it off.

The show was sold out except for a few seats here and there and the lady who sat down next to us said that her husband had to sit in the row behind us because there weren't any seats together. I happened to have 2 extra seats because I bought four tickets and invited some friends who were then unable to make it, so I offered this couple one of our empty seats. I was glad to, the extra seats served a good cause and this couple was able to enjoy the show together.

The stage was completely empty except for three acoustic guitars, a small table with some bottles of water, a stool and a microphone. At about 8:30pm the lights went out and Aaron walked out on stage and took his seat. He didn't say anything as he sat down. He just picked up one of his guitars and started playing. He opened with a Staind tune called So Far Away, and this acoustic version was even better than it was on the album. It felt much more starkly profound without all of the heavy electric guitar and drums to water it down.

After playing angst filled acoustic versions of Reply and Schizophrenic Conversations, he announced "another one of my happy songs" and played Excess Baggage, which is the hidden track on the 'Dysfunction' album. Then he performed a cover of Pearl Jam's Black, which in my opinion, Aaron did a far better job than I have ever heard from Eddie Vedder... sorry Eddie. Next, Aaron performed a phenomenal cover of Sober, by Tool.

The thing about these slower acoustic versions of the Staind songs and the cover tunes that he played is that while I thought they were beautiful and the emotional angst really came through, it all began to sound like an endless string of rock ballads. And as if to let us know that he knew this, he started to play Tesla's Love Song but stopped after only a few lines and laughed... "just kidding" and then he started to sing When the Children Cry by White Lion... and again, he stopped, "just kidding." Then he started up with Skid Row's Remember You, singing a few lines and quickly stopped... kidding again and laughing in response to audience's commentary. He said, "I can keep pulling this shit out of my ass all night." Laughingly, he began to play a cover of Pearl Jam's Garden. He paused and almost stopped again. Smiling as he continued to play. He wasn't kidding this time, and beautifully pulled it off.

Aaron introduced a friend to come out on the stage to play a few songs with him. It was Chris Ballini from his former band J-CAT. They played a few songs with some very cool harmony both vocally and on guitar. While all of Aaron's songs were mostly chords with a mix of picking, strumming and percussive techniques, Ballini was definitely the guitar solo artist of the night. Aarons acoustic playing has a rich and full texture and Ballini's acoustic guitar solos wove together with it to produce a fantastic sound.

Aaron and Ballini did a great song that many in the audience could relate to, Bong Hits for Breakfast. Enough said? Do I need to say more? At one time or another I think everyone in that audience knew what he meant when he sang about the fact that you can't drag your ass out of bed and face another day in this F'd up world without a least one bong hit for breakfast.

After Ballini exited, Aaron sang Zoe Jane, a song he wrote for his daughter and then closed the set with Outside. He stopped playing and let the audience finish the last two lines of Outside and the sound of the whole audience singing to finish the song was absolutely beautiful.

He came back on stage and encored with Been a While, probably Staind's most well known hit and then he played Right Here, which he termed as the often misunderstood but ultimate love song dedicated to his wife, who is still the most amazing person he's ever met. Surprisingly, the last song of the night was a cover of Patience by Guns n' Roses. I thought it was a very interesting choice of song to cover and close with... I thought he might have been kidding again.

Aaron sings with a very raw, emotional energy that he puts into every song. His enunciation makes every word clearly heard and understood. I loved the sound of his fingers sliding along the strings moving to the next chord. That sound just added to the pure unadulterated music he was playing. I have to say that at the end of the evening, I was very impressed. I have to agree, it was a unique concert to see. It takes talent and guts to perform with no drums, no bass, and no band to back you up. There is just something sublime about a man and his guitar alone on a stage, singing his heart out to the crowd. Definitely a show worth seeing.