“Each and every one of you have your own individual fingerprint. Own it. Embrace it. Weird is beautiful. You are the undefined variable (X) in this crazy equation.”- X JAX
When you visit Jax’s official website, that’s one of the first things you see, and that’s exactly what she had to offer last night at her sold out Webster Hall show in New York City (April 3.) The gorgeous pop/rock singer/songwriter stayed true to herself playing original songs, many for the first time ever in front of a crowd, along with cover songs some may recognize from her time on season 14 of American Idol.
Looking around, her fan base (known as the Jax Pack) varied between all ages. The age range started with kids who looked as young as 6-years old to a woman who said she was around 60 years old and loved her music since American Idol. To show their support for Jax, some people drew an “X” near their eye like she does. Some drew it in plain black ink, while others drew it in black ink along with glitter, which are two techniques Jax is seen doing when she draws it.
Some of the setlist included The Walking Dead theme song for the intro going into Jax acoustically singing The Beatles “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” followed by Jet’s “Do You Wanna Be My Girl,” “Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself,” “Forcefield,” “Zombieland” featuring Fly By Midnight’s Slavo, “Over Compensator,” “I Don’t Like Your Shoes,” “Play With Fire,” and “La La Land.”
With both stunning and powerful vocals throughout the show, nothing’s complete without an outstanding band. She had Mark “Bamo” Roberge on drums, Derek “Doc Dee” Rousseau on bass, and Shaun “Showtime” Mykal on guitar. Personality is everything, and their whole stage presence was pure perfection.
Just by watching her perform, you can tell that music is a big part of her life. Before singing “Play With Fire,” Jax told the audience, “If I didn’t have music and didn’t have a pen or a piece of paper and I had to figure it out for myself, I would need some serious serious therapy. It’s really crazy how therapeutic this can be.”
Being the playful person that she is, that naturally shined on stage during her performances as well. She couldn’t help but smile and giggle along with the crowd when she sang, “I said he had a slightly below average sized.. heart.” during one of my favorite songs of the night, “Over Compensator.”
One of the most memorable moments of the show was when Jax brought up a member of the Jax Pack on stage to sing Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself.” The girl, sporting some Jax merch, knew every word to the song. Not only did she know every word, she also looked and sounded completely adorable singing next to her idol. At one point, Jax even wore the girl’s pink hat and kept wearing it into the next song, soon giving it back to her.
Check out the clip I took of the adorable moment below:
.@Jax sang @justinbieber's #LoveYourself with a fan today at her #NewYorkCity show ??? #JaxPack pic.twitter.com/7Bwi0bmkbM
— Mel ? (@melaniexgomez) April 3, 2016
Jax ended the night with an encore, singing her latest single “La La Land” about her experience after getting third place on American Idol. During the song, fans held up their white signs, each with a black “X” written on them in support of being in the Jax Pack. On the YouTube description for the song, some of what she wrote was, “It took a lot of courage to put this song out, because I have no idea how everyone will react. I don’t want anybody to get the wrong idea. I am beyond grateful for my experience this past year. The love and support has been surreal and an absolute dream come true.” Fans taking time to hold up those signs shows how deep of a connection Jax truly has with her fans.
Below are two of my favorite lyrics from “La La Land,” simply because of how honest they are.
“Pretend you’re dating, it’s great for ratings / Look into the camera, America’s waiting…” and “Lights and camera, cut that’s me / Just like that, like 1, 2, 3 / Take all of your clothes of please / We’re gonna need them back, for the finale.”
When leaving a Jax show, there’s something special about the whole experience. It’s the kind of wonderful that makes you want to re-experience it all over again once it’s over.
Jax’s VIP Meet & Eat & Greet: Not only was the show great, her VIP experience before the show was just as great. The fans who purchased the VIP pass received a Jax laminate pass, got to eat food at the venue from one of Jax’s favorite restaurants (Taco Bell), got a signed poster, met Jax, and got multiple photos professionaly taken with her. For the people who decided to take selfies, they even got a professional photo of them taking the selfie with her. There were so many photos being taken that honestly, the choice was yours.
Getting to experience the VIP experience for myself, I can assure you that it’s worth every penny. Unlike most meet and greets, the fans actually got time with their idol. I got to have a chat with Jax about one of our favorite shows (The Walking Dead) while another fan had the chance to sing along with her and have it video recorded. Along with many of the poses people got, one of mine included a zombie pose with her. When meeting Jax, she treats you like her best friend, even if it’s your first time getting to meet her face to face.
Photo Gallery:
All photos taken by Melanie Gomez
Did you get to see Jax at Webster Hall, another show, or just love her in general? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @CelebMix!
Check out her video for “La La Land” below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R4T0Nc4jig
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