Daughtry -- the bestselling group fronted by "American Idol" hard-rock hero Chris Daughtry -- has indeed developed into a true band. That was obvious on the group's recent chart-topping second album and at the quintet's performance Sunday night at the jam-packed Cabooze bar in Minneapolis.
The only question: What kind of band?
Sunday's 75-minute set suggested that Daughtry writes songs for the radio, not for the stage.
Not that those notions are mutually exclusive. But how many medium-tempo tunes with a melodic undercurrent can one sold-out crowd in a sweltering sardine can listen to before it gets restless?
C'mon, dude, let's rock!
Daughtry's self-titled debut album, recorded with hired hands after he placed fourth on "Idol" three years ago, became the biggest selling album of 2007, thanks to five radio favorites. With the July 14 release of his second album, "Leave This Town," the North Carolina singer decided to do 11 club gigs before stepping up to bigger venues in the fall.
As a frontman, the 29-year-old chrome dome man in black showed a big voice, big guns (dude must hit the gym) and little humor. He was not as loose as last year's hard-rocking "Idol" winner, David Cook, was last month in a concert at Mystic Lake Casino. Dour-faced Daughtry's idea of having fun was dousing the crowd with a Super Soaker and singing through a bullhorn, whereas the charming Cook was quick with spontaneous quips and a disarming smile, and ran around the entire room.
To be sure, Daughtry commanded the stage more effectively than he had opening in arenas for Bon Jovi and Nickelback. More important, his band played with a fierce rumble, with a taste for guitar and vocal harmonies. The group did an encouraging job of varying its textures if not its tempos.
