When the white banner with a drawing of the Jukebox ghost fell behind the set, the crowd knew it was time for a groundbreaking show.

Alternative rock-pop band Jukebox the Ghost took over the Schine Underground on Tuesday as a part of the Bandersnatch Music Series. Io Echo, the indie-rock group with a Japanese-style influence, opened for Jukebox with a high-energy, strobe light-infused performance.

Last time Jukebox played in Syracuse, it was at Funk n’ Waffles. The band has played hundreds of shows since it first started touring in the late 2000s.

The concert started a little later than planned when the sound check was delayed. Doors were set to open at 7:30 p.m. and did not open until 8:30 p.m., but eager fans did not seem to mind the wait. The fans of the almost-sold-out show fled to center stage and lined the metal fence that separated them from the performers.

Opener Io Echo filled the Underground with percussive, Japanese-inspired beats and the powerful, cohesive blend of lead vocalist Ioanna Gika and Leopold Ross, guitarist and back-up vocalist.

The Japanese influence resonated in the artists’ clothing and set. Ross wore a cherry blossom-printed cardigan and Gika’s floor-length sweater draped around her like a modern, hipster geisha.

The percussive-driven performance would sometimes take a break when Gika’s vocals took the lead. Her powerful voice filled the room, even as she stood with her back to the crowd and her head held high. Gika danced and frolicked across the stage whenever Ross took a guitar solo, resembling a black-haired Kurt Cobain as he played.

After a 20-minute break for Jukebox’s sound check, the crowd was ready to see the band that kept it waiting outside on a snowy Syracuse night. An eager silence swept the Underground as the fans watched the band members complete their sound check, and anticipated how each instrument would flow into the opening song.

Warm orange and yellow lights suddenly lit the stage, and guitarist Tommy Siegel announced Jukebox would be testing out some songs with the Syracuse audience in preparation for its two sold-out shows in Boston. The crowd roared at the chance to hear new material, as most of the crowd was full of returning fans.

Lead singer and pianist Ben Thornewill energized the room with showmanship that could not be contained behind a keyboard. He toyed between two keyboard sets while looking out into the crowd or down into the line of cameras at the front of the stage.

The band’s hundreds of shows have helped it develop a strong chemistry that never allows the energy to fade out or die. Transitions went from fast, upbeat songs to acoustic and slower pieces, and continued to build the energy within the crowd.

Jukebox has a tradition of performing a “cheesy” 1980s song at the end of the set to which the whole crowd can sing along, but Siegel announced Tuesday they would keep it classy by performing “Somebody to Love” by Queen.

An encore and meet-and-greet followed the traditional closing to the show. Fans like April Woltersdorf, a junior music education major, continue to return to the shows.

“They always do meet-and-greets,” Woltersdorf said. “I thought it was cool how they tried out the new songs for the Boston show.”

Jukebox has had great success within the past year after the release of “Safe Travels.” The band sold out the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., and performed for huge crowds in venues like the Metro in Chicago.

Siegel said the band will work on a new album as soon as it finishes touring. Both Siegel and Thornewill are songwriters, so the band constantly has new material with which to work.

“We have never been a flavor-of-a-week band,” Siegel said. “Even from our inception, we basically have the same sound we started in 2004. We may be just a bit more tasteful.”

The indie-rock genre has started to gain a massive following, especially through social media. Jukebox seems to instill the elements of classic rock that captivates listeners and brings a modern twist.

“Pop music doesn’t have to be all pop. It can have some depth to it,” Thornewill said. “I think that enables a song to be listened to more than once or twice.”

Published on March 20, 2013 at 2:50 am

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