Who: fun. with Miniature Tigers
When: April 25, 2012
Where: KoolHaus/ Toronto, ON
With: just me
Of Note: HOLY HELL THIS IS WHAT LIVE MUSIC IS SUPPOSED TO FEEL LIKE
One of the books I read last year was called 'The Paradox of Choice' and in it, the author described a phenomena called 'the cycle of hedonism'. Essentially, once something has made you happy once, it will never make you quite that happy again - diminishing returns and all that, not only of that particular experience, but of that level of happiness (it's pretty depressing to think about). For people that go to concerts, sometimes it feels like you're always chasing that high...that every show has the opportunity to be just another show or the opportunity to blow your fricking mind. Seeing fun. in Toronto on a random Wednesday in April blew my fricking mind. This show was EVERYTHING that is good and fun and right about the live music experience. Feeling the way I felt when I left the venue is why I go to shows in the first place. You don't get that feeling every single time, though most of the time, you get close. But, when you feel it....holy crap.
Actually, this is the facebook post I made as I left the venue:
But! Before I get too far ahead of myself, let's talk about the show. The opening band was Miniature Tigers. They were...perfectly serviceable. The lead singer was super likable; he seemed like a guy that you wanted to root for. It's also worth noting that their bass player had the most perfect "geek chic but also rocking my face off in a band" style ever. You knew it was going to be a party when his suspenders started to fall off!
At the start of the first song, somebody near me said, "This sounds familiar. Do I know this?" I thought the same thing, until I realized that it sounded like the beginning of the Temper Trap's 'Love is Lost'. The rest of the beginning of the set had a very Jerry Lee Lewis/beach blanket bingo vintage-y vibe which was very fun. Towards the middle of the set, they got a little more "progressive" which I was not a huge fan of. The last song was called 'Sex on the Regular' and it was pure synth pop perfection. The other thing worth noting was that the lead singer fell on his ass during one of the numbers. He was dancing backwards, tripped on something and fell. It was funny; he was embarrassed.
And then, fun. Thinking back on it, I am still just so incredibly blown away. They started with 'One Foot', one of my very favorites - it's all loud horns and a marching band feel. It was during this opener that I noticed they use a legit flugelhorn on stage, which upped the cool quotient by like, a million. During that first song, the wall of sound, essentially, nailed the crowd to the back of the wall...and it just got better from there.
They played a mix of songs from their first and second albums - 'All the Pretty Girls' was a fan birthday dedication which was cool. 'Walking the Dog' and 'Why Am I The One' were towards the beginning of the set, both songs I really like. Nate told an awesome story about how the band had been to Canada before and there were possible problems about them getting back in (I'm assuming that was a joke?). He went on to say that he knows there are lots of nicknames for Toronto - TO, the T-Dot, etc. but that he has always called it "The Ront". As someone who tried to get my middle school best friend Andrea to go by 'Drea', I could appreciate that. Then, there was a big debate about who actually came up with it. Predictably, the Toronto crowd went insane for this story.
Again, because I love a good sing along, one of my favorite parts of the show was during 'Barlights', Nate silenced the crowd and had us all sing along to the "I-I-I feel a-li-i-ive" part in "little bit louder now" style, starting soft and getting HUGE.
The second to last song of the set was 'We Are Young', which, after being the season finale song on every single CW show, is possibly a little over-exposed. But, that was the moment where the entire room came together even more, which is always the best moment. Plus, live, the song takes on an even more impressive anthemic quality. Like, I actually felt like I could burn brighter than the sun. It also featured a boss sing along, boys v. girls style, with the girls taking the "na nas" and the guys taking the "carry me home tonight". It cannot be said enough how much I love a sing along, especially one in the round!
I figured that 'We Are Young' would be the last song of the set, but then, as an awesome bonus, they tore up 'You Can't Always Get What You Want'. My notes say, verbatim, "Ended with You Can't always GEt What You Want - it was SO fucking awesome". The vulnerability of his voice, paired with some impressive rocking out by Andrew added to how incredibly surprised I was at the cover....it was an epic conclusion.
Then, just when you thought it couldn't get any better, they opened the encore with 'Some Nights'. And, holy crap. Gentle readers, I apologize for being so inarticulate, but there are really no words for how awesome this was. Like, full room of people jumping and waving their hands and a band that was giving absolutely everything they had on a song that is so, so good, with the slightly military snare drum cadence, such phenomenal lyrics, and rousing "oh-oh-oh" behind the verses.
The second song of the encore was 'Take Your Time (Coming Home)' and during it was one of the coolest concert moments I've ever experienced. During the middle of the song, there was a pause - and the crowd went absolutely batshit insane with the clapping and the cheering and the whistling and the screaming. Nate stood at the front of the stage and you could see it on his face, in his eyes that he was soaking it in...filing away that moment. I can only imagine what it's like to have that many people in one place being so loudly appreciative of you doing what it is you love to do. My notes say that he looked almost a bit verklempt - he paused just a little longer than was probably necessary, for composure? Then he turned it back on; they obliterated the rest of the song and we all went home stunned and enthralled. But, that moment? The one where you can see what the impact of being a fan is? That was magic.
True to my initial response, I spent almost the next two weeks listening exclusively to fun. And I really do believe, that if everyone could feel the way I felt driving home that night - exhilarated, alive, in love with life, able to conquer anything - the world would be a much better place.
When: April 25, 2012
Where: KoolHaus/ Toronto, ON
With: just me
Of Note: HOLY HELL THIS IS WHAT LIVE MUSIC IS SUPPOSED TO FEEL LIKE
One of the books I read last year was called 'The Paradox of Choice' and in it, the author described a phenomena called 'the cycle of hedonism'. Essentially, once something has made you happy once, it will never make you quite that happy again - diminishing returns and all that, not only of that particular experience, but of that level of happiness (it's pretty depressing to think about). For people that go to concerts, sometimes it feels like you're always chasing that high...that every show has the opportunity to be just another show or the opportunity to blow your fricking mind. Seeing fun. in Toronto on a random Wednesday in April blew my fricking mind. This show was EVERYTHING that is good and fun and right about the live music experience. Feeling the way I felt when I left the venue is why I go to shows in the first place. You don't get that feeling every single time, though most of the time, you get close. But, when you feel it....holy crap.
Actually, this is the facebook post I made as I left the venue:
But! Before I get too far ahead of myself, let's talk about the show. The opening band was Miniature Tigers. They were...perfectly serviceable. The lead singer was super likable; he seemed like a guy that you wanted to root for. It's also worth noting that their bass player had the most perfect "geek chic but also rocking my face off in a band" style ever. You knew it was going to be a party when his suspenders started to fall off!
At the start of the first song, somebody near me said, "This sounds familiar. Do I know this?" I thought the same thing, until I realized that it sounded like the beginning of the Temper Trap's 'Love is Lost'. The rest of the beginning of the set had a very Jerry Lee Lewis/beach blanket bingo vintage-y vibe which was very fun. Towards the middle of the set, they got a little more "progressive" which I was not a huge fan of. The last song was called 'Sex on the Regular' and it was pure synth pop perfection. The other thing worth noting was that the lead singer fell on his ass during one of the numbers. He was dancing backwards, tripped on something and fell. It was funny; he was embarrassed.
And then, fun. Thinking back on it, I am still just so incredibly blown away. They started with 'One Foot', one of my very favorites - it's all loud horns and a marching band feel. It was during this opener that I noticed they use a legit flugelhorn on stage, which upped the cool quotient by like, a million. During that first song, the wall of sound, essentially, nailed the crowd to the back of the wall...and it just got better from there.
They played a mix of songs from their first and second albums - 'All the Pretty Girls' was a fan birthday dedication which was cool. 'Walking the Dog' and 'Why Am I The One' were towards the beginning of the set, both songs I really like. Nate told an awesome story about how the band had been to Canada before and there were possible problems about them getting back in (I'm assuming that was a joke?). He went on to say that he knows there are lots of nicknames for Toronto - TO, the T-Dot, etc. but that he has always called it "The Ront". As someone who tried to get my middle school best friend Andrea to go by 'Drea', I could appreciate that. Then, there was a big debate about who actually came up with it. Predictably, the Toronto crowd went insane for this story.
Again, because I love a good sing along, one of my favorite parts of the show was during 'Barlights', Nate silenced the crowd and had us all sing along to the "I-I-I feel a-li-i-ive" part in "little bit louder now" style, starting soft and getting HUGE.
The second to last song of the set was 'We Are Young', which, after being the season finale song on every single CW show, is possibly a little over-exposed. But, that was the moment where the entire room came together even more, which is always the best moment. Plus, live, the song takes on an even more impressive anthemic quality. Like, I actually felt like I could burn brighter than the sun. It also featured a boss sing along, boys v. girls style, with the girls taking the "na nas" and the guys taking the "carry me home tonight". It cannot be said enough how much I love a sing along, especially one in the round!
I figured that 'We Are Young' would be the last song of the set, but then, as an awesome bonus, they tore up 'You Can't Always Get What You Want'. My notes say, verbatim, "Ended with You Can't always GEt What You Want - it was SO fucking awesome". The vulnerability of his voice, paired with some impressive rocking out by Andrew added to how incredibly surprised I was at the cover....it was an epic conclusion.
Then, just when you thought it couldn't get any better, they opened the encore with 'Some Nights'. And, holy crap. Gentle readers, I apologize for being so inarticulate, but there are really no words for how awesome this was. Like, full room of people jumping and waving their hands and a band that was giving absolutely everything they had on a song that is so, so good, with the slightly military snare drum cadence, such phenomenal lyrics, and rousing "oh-oh-oh" behind the verses.
The second song of the encore was 'Take Your Time (Coming Home)' and during it was one of the coolest concert moments I've ever experienced. During the middle of the song, there was a pause - and the crowd went absolutely batshit insane with the clapping and the cheering and the whistling and the screaming. Nate stood at the front of the stage and you could see it on his face, in his eyes that he was soaking it in...filing away that moment. I can only imagine what it's like to have that many people in one place being so loudly appreciative of you doing what it is you love to do. My notes say that he looked almost a bit verklempt - he paused just a little longer than was probably necessary, for composure? Then he turned it back on; they obliterated the rest of the song and we all went home stunned and enthralled. But, that moment? The one where you can see what the impact of being a fan is? That was magic.
True to my initial response, I spent almost the next two weeks listening exclusively to fun. And I really do believe, that if everyone could feel the way I felt driving home that night - exhilarated, alive, in love with life, able to conquer anything - the world would be a much better place.
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