Shwayze Live at the Roxy (Video)
Friday, January 22nd was a cold and windy night in Hollywood as dozens of Shwayze fans stood on Sunset blvd. waiting to get into the Roxy. Their fan base was comprised off mostly "high schoolers" with occasional over 21ers clinging to a cocktail. Four bands opened for Shwayze that night: Trouble Andrew, Chris Young, The Pricks, and Kelley James.
Kelley James stood out among the openers. The singer/guitarist, with his funny flow and freestyles, definitely caught my attention. If you're looking for someone who sounds like a funky Jason Mraz meets Jack Johnson, and can work a crowd like a true headliner, yet still has the creative tools to freestyle like he was an underground hip-hop phenom, then I suggest you check out Kelley James. You can stream his music on his website: www.kelleyjames.com.
On to the headliner... Aaron Smith and Cisco Adler make up Shwayze. To me, it seems as though Cisco is the music behind Aaron's lyrics. Not too different from how the Neptunes' Chad and Pharrell work their magic. Shwayze came out in front of blue and pink neon lights, a fitting atmosphere for their retro eighties look. They were backed by two DJs; one on the turn tables the other on a beat machine. They came out with high energy that made the crowd go nuts instantly.
They started the show with songs from their new album, Let It Beat, including "Get U Home," then moved on to their hit, "Corona and Lime," a song that seemed to relate to the crowd that didn't seem old enough to order one, though it didn't matter the fans loved it, especially the ladies. Girls were sitting on guys' shoulders, eating their hearts out, as Shwayze did their thing. Their fans loved them and I could see why, they brought energy and a cool swagger to match. Basically, they put it down!
This being my first experience seeing Shwayze perform live, I found them pretty entertaining, like a cross between Gym Class Heroes and Sugar Ray, but in the best way possible, I guess I should say.
Review by Andrew Henry, Contributing Writer
Photos by Jayson Dana
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Watch a clip of their Roxy performance below
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Watch one of Kelley James's live performances below
[jwplayer|config=Hollywire|width=425|height=344|file=http://www.youtube.com/v/GByQVNPvtEY|image=http://i4.ytimg.com/vi/GByQVNPvtEY/hqdefault.jpg]
For more music, photos and videos, visit www.shwayze.com and www.kelleyjames.com
