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Review: Rob Thomas at the Events Center

Matchbox Twenty singer does just fine solo

By Victor Calderon

Vcalderon@rgj.com
October 18, 2009

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Rob Thomas performs at the Reno Events Center. (Credit: Tony Contini / Special to Metromix)

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Rob Thomas entertained a packed house Saturday at the Reno Events Center with a combination of hits and newer songs while openers Carolina Liar and OneRepublic got the crowd into the pop-rock mood.

Before an all-ages crowd, Thomas proved he has more than enough solo material for a two-hour set, leaving out any hits from his band Matchbox Twenty (more on that later).

His set mixed in songs from his debut album "Something To Be" and his recent release "Cradlesong."

The first three songs were off that newer album- "Fire On The Mountain," "Give Me The Meltdown" and "Real World '09," perhaps including the year as an update to Matchbox Twenty's "Real World" off their 1996 debut album "Yourself or Someone Like You."

"Our goal tonight is to have a little something for everyone," Thomas said, speaking to those who only know his hits and those who can sing along with the lyrics on every song.

Then Thomas performed the beat-pounding "Lonely No More." Behind Thomas and his bandmates on the stage was a large video screen that showed various almost-hypnotizing colorful images throughout the set.

After a couple more songs, Thomas offered up "Streetcorner Symphony," with lyrics such as "Come on over/Down to the corner/My sisters and my brothers of every different color." The song has a famous fan in former NBA player Kevin Johnson, who used it on election night this past November when he became Sacramento's mayor.

Thomas slowed things down a bit with songs like "Natural," "Wonderful" and "Ever the Same."

A few songs later, he brought out "Little Wonders," a popular hit that many may not know was featured on the soundtrack for the Disney animated film "Meet the Robinsons."

Next came "Fallin' to Pieces," into which Thomas added a cover of the Jason Mraz song "I'm Yours."

This was followed by Thomas' current hit "Her Diamonds," which Thomas has said in an interview was written for his wife Marisol, who has an auto-immune disease.

After "I Am An Illusion," Thomas and his band came back for an encore. He first brought back Carolina Liar lead vocalist Chad Wolf to join him on a cover of "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys," originally sung by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.

After "Still Ain't Over You," Thomas called back OneRepublic guitarist Zach Filkins for a more Spanish-guitar, slow-jam version of "Smooth," though, arguably, most of the crowd would have preferred to hear the more rockin' Santana version.

Thomas closed out his set on a high note with "This Is How A Heart Breaks."

In recent concerts, Thomas has been known to put in a Matchbox Twenty hit such as "3 AM" but he wasn't able to do that in his Reno show. He seemed to take his time with slower, acoustic versions of his songs so that towards the end, he told the crowd he would try to fit in as many songs as he could before it was time for his band to leave. But that made the encore seem a bit more fast paced.

It was still an enjoyable concert.

Opener Carolina Liar seemed to be on stage just a few minutes longer than when they joined middle act OneRepublic and then Thomas for his encore. The band, with its front man hailing from South Carolina and other band members from Sweden, still managed to perform its hit "Show Me What I'm Looking For," which has been featured on the Fox show "90210."

OneRepublic followed up with a lively set featuring hits like "Stop And Stare" and "Apologize." The Colorado-based band also brought up Carolina Liar for a cover of Tears for Fears' "Shout." Lead vocalist Ryan Tedder even joked how none of the ATMs at the band's Reno hotel (identified on the their MySpace page as the Siena) were working but that it didn't keep them from hitting the casino.

Rob Thomas set list: