AJR Electrifies CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore

I have seen AJR in concert three times, and I don’t know how they do it, but they just keep getting better. 

AJR, the indie pop trio of brothers Adam, Jack, and Ryan Metzger (shortened to Met), performed at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore on April 7, 2024. This was their fourth stop on their four month long tour for their newest album, The Maybe Man. Dean Lewis, Australian singer-songwriter, opened for them.

The first show I saw was their drive-in concert in Philadelphia during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was a brilliant idea. They performed in a parking lot while fans enjoyed the show from their spaced out cars. The second show was in Pittsburgh during their OK Orchestra tour in 2022, and it was the most theatrical concert I had ever seen.

Until they upped their game. Sunday’s show was like watching a movie rolled into a Broadway stage production with a lot of audience interaction. It was an experience like no other.

This tour is known as their “arena tour;” they are only performing at large arenas and venues that can accommodate their set. They had large screens on either side of the stage along with a large screen in the back. They also had a cage-looking contraption that occasionally closed to become another screen.

The visuals at AJR’s show were incredibly detailed and mind-bending. The show began with their title track, “The Maybe Man.” As they sang about all of the types of people they could be, spotlights hit different spots on the stage to reveal “Jack” facing away from the audience, as if he was teleporting to different spots. The real Jack appeared, suspended many feet above the ground, and the crowd cheered.

Jack used the suspensions as well as the cage setup again for their song “Karma” to make it look like he was falling through the sky for the duration of the song. 

Many of the songs had their own settings projected on the screens, as if they were part of a musical’s stage scenery. “Touchy Feely Fool” was set in a spaceship, “Yes I’m A Mess” began in a suburban neighborhood, and “Don’t Throw Out My Legos” showed an apartment building with dancing lights.

One of the many truly unforgetable moments (although there were too many to really count) was when the band joined the audience to sing two songs from the crowd.  Jack sang two songs, “World’s Smallest Violin” and “Steve’s Going to London,” while sitting high up in the stands. Ryan came up to join him, along with trumpeter Arnetta Johnson.

During “100 Bad Days,” an overhead stage light started flickering and fell down. Ryan stopped the show, saying that this was not part of the show. They called for the safety crew to come check it out, and I believed it until the white-haired safety crew member ripped off his wig and mask to reveal Jack in disguise. They picked up where they left off in the song as fans laughed and cheered while a message flashed across the screen saying “It was part of the show!”

The boys love to banter onstage, as any brothers would. At each show, the boys pick out an audience member’s hat that catches their eye to have Ryan try on. They picked a fan’s fuzzy green frog hat.

“I look like a flower that has yet to bloom,” Ryan said.

“That was your nickname in kindergarten, wasn’t it?” Jack responded.

Interactions between band members is always a comforting thing to see at concerts, and it comes so naturally for the brothers. It makes it feel like the audience members are their close family friends. 

At every show the brothers describe how they created one of their songs before they play it. This show, the song was “Way Less Sad,” a single released in 2021 off of their album OK Orchestra. They described how they found inspiration for instrument parts such as drum beats: by hearing plates clank together at a diner. Sometimes the inspiration strikes them out of nowhere, and other times it has been sitting under their noses for 20 years.

Ryan said that “Way Less Sad” was 20 years in the making because the inspiration they found for the melody was from a collection of home videos of the brothers as kids. It just goes to show how much heart, soul, and brilliance goes into every song they make.

Adam introduced “Bang!,” which is one of the songs they used in previous shows to explain how they write their music. He said the song, which the band has described as a metaphor for growing up and navigating adulthood, became somewhat of their darkest song – despite its catchy chords. 

To play into this darkness, Jack and Adam’s silhouettes were cast very large on the big screen behind them against a dark red background. The silhouettes then took on a mind of their own during Jack’s drum solo. It was one of the most entertaining tricks in the show.

I think one of the best things about AJR’s brand is their fans. They have the nicest fans in the world, and they appeal to a vast range of ages. Everyone I encountered was kind to each other, complimenting peoples’ outfits and just being polite. Their fans are just like band members: unapologetically themselves.

Jack explained that there was an AJR hate club at their high school, but they never let the haters bring them down. In fact, that was one of their biggest motivators when forming their style, starting 18 years ago.

It’s easy to tell that AJR is really special to their fans. The crowd was engaged the entire time. Many people had homemade signs, shirts from past tours, and fun costumes. And their lyrics really resonate with people.

The arena filled with twinkling lights from people’s phones as Ryan sang his trilogy of songs, “Turning Out” parts I through III, which are featured on The Click, Neotheater, and The Maybe Man respectively

It’s also easy to tell that the fans are special to AJR. They’re very grateful for the people who engage with them and embrace their weirdness. The boys always like to point out people in the crowd that catch their eye. One such person was a young dancing boy dressed in a taco costume, along with his dad who was dancing like no one was watching for the entire set yet never actually looked at the stage.

To tie in the overall cinematic feel, after the encore, the cage screen went dark to reveal the words “Directed by Ryan, Jack, and Adam Met,” followed by rolling credits listing every person who was involved in this theatrical production. So many people were involved in this production, and their hard work truly paid off

While still incredibly theatrical and energetic, this show was a bit sadder than the previous shows I’ve seen. And I can understand why; the boys lost their dad, Gary, in July of 2023. Their album was released in November, and quite a few songs make reference to their dad’s passing – “God is Really Real” being the most explicit reference. 

Towards the end of the show, Jack choked up as he explained to the audience that there were two constants in this world. The first was that they would always have haters. The second was their dad, who told them never to listen to those haters and nonbelievers. Even though one of those constants is gone, Jack said that the band would never stop making music that expresses their true selves.

“Even up until last year, it was our dad that told us to keep going. Keep going, and eventually, you’ll find some people who see the world the same way you do,” Jack said as the chords for “The Maybe Man” finale came in.

In his final monologue, Jack said that their dad told them that they should always be themselves no matter what.

“For the rest of our lives, we’re gonna stand on this stage, walking on treadmills, bringing shadows to life, singing our weird songs. Because finally, after 18 years, we found a room full of people that see the world the same way we do!” Jack shouted before singing the last song. “Because life is really, really short, guys. It’s way too short to not be the biggest version of yourself.”

AJR are masters of illusions, yet they are also grounded by the human experience – something with which everyone can relate. Their Baltimore performance showed their true colors (and they showed so many colors) and showed the audience what kind of brilliant entertainers they are.