First, the not-so-great. We bought the VIP package which included front row seats and a pre-show meet-and-greet. The coordination between Colbie Caillat's people and the State Theater was pretty bad. We were getting conflicting information on the start times, policies, etc. We ended up arriving at the "last minute" as per the invite and were then told that the meet and greet wouldn't start for another hour. Once we got in, Colbie seemed very sweet and shy, but we were ushered through so quickly that it was a blur. Her handlers were physically pushing us through as fast as possible and it was "Hi...I'm so glad.."..push push into position next to her.."to meet..."...click...push "you" push push "Please exit to your right". There were three of us in my group and only two people in front of us. With that said, we were in the same room as her for less than 2 minutes total. I wanted to thank her for her animal advocacy and for speaking out against puppy mills and I didn't even have time to squeeze that out before I was outside and wondering what happened.
Now for the good.
The opening act was Noah Gunderson. The folk styings underlying darker, more angst-ridden lyrics was a great contrast to Colbie's upbeat, sunny style. I'd never heard of Gunderson before, but his performance definitely got my attention. His music makes me think of Seatlle Grunge meets Neil Young. He combines a lot of elements from other performers, but turns it into something that's all his own. I really can't think of anyone that's similar enough to fairly compare him to. Just listen to his tracks and make your own call. I would have loved to have heard a solo from Abby Gunderson. Her effortless and flawless harmonies hinted at a power and control that really made me wish that the performance had given her a chance to show off. Similarly, her violin performance was outstanding. It blended so well and smoothly that I'm sure that most people didn't even pay attention to it. But her technical skills and emotion came through to anyone listening for it. His brother (Ivan?) kind of faded into the background, but provided a valuable and understated accent with rythym and keyboards. He really didn't stand out, but I think that it would have been a different performance without him.
Colbie Caillat is the first concert that I've been too where they deliberately illuminated the front rows of the audience. As a result, there was a lot of eye contact, smiling and a sense of connectedness that you don't get with a lot of performances. My "too cool" 12-year-old son (though he looks and acts 16) got embarrased and started blushing everytime Colbie came by and smiled down at him. So, that alone was worth the price of admission. It was so intimate that Colbie actually heard him making comments to the person next to him and addressed them as part of her banter between songs (all very friendly and upbeat). So much of her personality came through in the performance that I felt like I got more of a "meet and greet" from the front row than I did from the actual meet-and-greet.
The concert started with a strong full-band number that seemed a bit "packaged". Technically, it was performed well, but there was none of the emotion or personality in it. Once Colbie took a break and sat down to talk with the audience, her performance "opened up". Her acoustic performance of the song "Magic" especially, seemed to be a turning point in the concert. She appeared to be more comfortable and connected with the audience after she spoke for awhile. After that, the entire ensemble seemed to loosen up. It was really amazing to see how connected she and her band were. Once over that hurdle, she was flashing that trademark smile, interacting with the front rows of the audience and just appearing to be a lot more comfortable and outgoing. Likewise, her band was playing with one another, throwing out riffs, flashing glances and smiles back and forth that seemed to indicate when someone went "off score". It felt more like an intimate club jam session than the flashier, more rigid, initial song.
One thing that really stood out was the smirks, smiles and unspoken dialog between the lead guitarist, keyboardist and backup singer. At a few points, you could see the exchange go on and then Colbie would start smiling without looking back. I don't know if there were some musical hijinks going on, but it came across as some sort of weird telepathic connection between them. If nothing else, it was apparent that everyone was having fun and that made for a fun experience for the audience.
There aren't a lot of performers that I genuinely think are better live, but Colbie Caillat is one of them. Her studio performances are wonderful and a lot of "her" comes through. But the conversations that she put between her songs, the connection that she seems to share with her band and her body language just adds a whole additonal layer to the music. She's not a high energy performer, but she comes across as very "real" on stage.