No spark from Matchbox Twenty

With a bill like Tuesday's Matchbox Twenty, Everclear and Lifehouse concert, two things are obvious. One: Lifehouse lucked out in scoring the opening act. Two: Everclear got shafted getting stuck as an opening act.\nPerhaps a double bill would have worked for this show, but as it stood, Everclear only got about 45 minutes to perform, while Matchbox Twenty played for more than twice that.\nOpening for two giant rock acts such as Matchbox Twenty and Everclear is no easy task, but Lifehouse pulled it off gracefully, playing a 25-minute set to a huge crowd at Conseco Fieldhouse. Lifehouse, which has seen a reasonable amount of success from its debut album, No Name Face, played a strong set that included its hit single, "Hanging by a Moment." \nEverclear started with the mellow "Song From An American Movie," which featured all three Everclear members on the guitar as drummer Greg Eklund played the mandolin. Two percussionists and an extra guitarist joined the band as it rumbled into "Everything to Everyone" from So Much For the Afterglow. The percussion section put on an impressive performance.\nWith five albums to its name, Everclear had a large repertoire of songs to choose from, but with only 45 minutes on stage, the band had to be selective. Everclear played several of its hits, such as "I Will Buy You a New Life," "AM Radio" and "Wonderful." These were played well and got the crowd energized, but more variety with lesser-known songs would have helped the set tremendously.\nDespite the fact that lead man Art Alexakis called the audience "dorks," he came off as grateful, saying playing in Indianapolis was better than playing in Detroit. Alexakis made a reference to the frigid weather and joked that people in Santa Monica would get angry when the temperature dropped below 65 degrees. In their honor, the band finished the set with a rocking performance of "Santa Monica."\nMatchbox Twenty hit the stage with, if nothing else, an impressive display of lights. While the opening acts were content with signs that featured their bands' insignias, Matchbox Twenty had a full video screen for half its songs, which typically showed random, sometimes pointless photos. The stage was enhanced with mobile light contraptions used to illuminate band members and blind the audience.\n"Crutch" kicked things off and "Bent" followed soon after. The band launched into several songs from its debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You, including "Long Day," "Girl Like That" and "3 a.m." The band would go on to play "Real World" and "Back 2 Good." With only two albums to its name, Matchbox Twenty gave a fairly predictable set that included all its hits and songs from both albums. \nThe show was a bit of a homecoming for lead guitarist and Hoosier Kyle Cook. Cook took a few moments to thank the crowd and revel in hometown glory. He compared it to being Reggie Miller. \nWhile relatively mellow, Matchbox Twenty had a good deal of energy. But with a grand piano and a horn section on various songs, there was no doubt about Matchbox Twenty's adult contemporary status.\nSongs from the band's latest album, Mad Seasons By Matchbox Twenty, included "Mad Season" and the latest single, "If You're Gone." There was a disappointing and poorly played cover of "Lonely Weekends." \nBut while Matchbox Twenty played every song to studio perfection, the band seemed distant and uninspired, band members preferring to revel in their own glory rather than contribute to the enjoyment of the crowd.