You know the feeling: someone escorts a beloved band out of obscurity and into the spotlight, sputtering with stage fright and excitement. Suddenly, it's exploded: it has TV spots; it has sold-out shows; and it has fans that...aren't just you.
Anyway, the point: when I heard "Sleepy Head" in my friend's car the day after the show in early 2008, I thought her speakers were going to burst, and I was in love. Since then, this bright little band has bled into the public realm of commercials and television soundtracks (hello, Gossip Girl), and frontman Michael Angelakos' little Prozac pill of a project has ignited a bromance with fans spanning genres and tastes. This is surprising, since Angelakos' window-rattling shriek isn't exactly the most accessible voice on the indie-dance market. But bliss knows no boundaries, and that's exactly what Angelakos and co. is peddling.
Passion Pit kicked off their sold-out set at the Beaumont on Monday night in front of a crowd with a surprising amount of hands with bold X's emblazoned on them. From my point of view, the show was mostly comprised of silhouetted hands raised in the air (thank you, Beaumont), but what few glimpses I did snatch of Angelakos and his band revealed a fun, rollicking group hopping, screaming and dancing in front of a dazzling stage set-up.
Seizure-inducing flashes, kaleidoscopic LCD screens of light, thumping bass and bouncing synth lines provided a euphoric experience for an underage crowd that was very obviously not on ecstasy. (There were some skunky plumes of smoke rising in the Beaumont last night, but nothing too crazy -- after all, it was a school night.) From a concert-goer's standpoint, Passion Pit wrung out every last drop of joy and jubilation from their fifteen-song set. Angelakos yelped through a synthesized sound set-up that rendered his shrieks electrifying, and growling MSTRKRFT-like bass lines buzzed the Beaumont's floorboards. But the fist-pumping party atmosphere that Passion Pit created, while contagious and truly seamless, felt derivative: keyboard lines that could be ripped from MGMT's Oracular Spectacular spilled out of "The Reeling," and vibrant synth hooks that sounded suspiciously like Daft Punk throbbed in "Better Things."
Similarly, the delicate splendor inherent in Passion Pit songs like "Swimming in the Flood" was obliterated by a thudding bass overhaul. (Unfortunately -- or fortunately, if you're talking money and mass appeal -- one can crank up the bass on most of Passion Pit's tunes and have an instant dance party, regardless of theme, lyricism or artistic merit.) The manic-depressive beauty in Passion Pit's tumbling electro-dance jams was in the songs' underlying aching fragility, like a lovelorn sigh. Seeing the group abandon all subtlety to kick it onstage -- to great success, no less -- was bittersweet.
I missed the first opener, Bear Hands, but openers Mayer Hawthorne & the County dressed like a college acapella group, and played watered-down "soul" music that earned the shudder-inducing genre curse of Easy Listening. They also broke out a rap cover of Biz Markie that was cringe-worthy all the way from my place in the bathroom line.
SETLIST:
I've Got Your Number
Make Light
Better Things
The Reeling
Moths Wings
Swimming in the Flood
To Kingdom Come
Let Your Love Grow Tall
Folds in Your Hand
Smile Upon Me
Little Secrets
ENCORE:
Eyes As Candles
Dreams (a Cranberries cover)
Sleepy Head
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Since The Pitch apparently only employs non-human primates as copy editors, note that "Sleepy Head" is actually "Sleepyhead." Is it really that much trouble to quickly check a band's song titles before posting a brief online review?
This is a pretty spot-on review. I agree with it all. I felt like an old guy there (wearing a blue Bonnaroo shirt). I had no idea until last night that Passion Pit's fans were so young. It felt weird, like I was waiting to see Miley Cyrus perform. I thought Mayer Hawthorne was so out of place. It was cheesy, watered-down, cliche "soul". The guitar player on the audiences left side looked like he'd rather be cleaning toilet bowls than playing. I grew up listening to Motown, Do-whop, Soul, funk and all of that. If I want to hear it done right today I'll see Raphael Saadiq again. Maybe Mayer has some potential if he matures into his own sound, but it sounded so derivitive. It was so bizarre seeing a bunch of high schoolers going nuts over it. Passion Pit was great. Overall the crowd was good despite how weird it felt at times. It's been a long time since I've been around such an "inexperienced" crowd. Moshing to soul and Passion Pit? Crowd surfing? The drunk guys and underage girls attempting to crash their way to the stage? I hate having to remind people to have a good time and have respect for the people that got there early to get a good spot. I'm 6'2" and I stood back farther than I could have out of respect for the very short crowd of girls around me. Passion Pit were really enjoying themselves and the sound was bassey, though the sparkling synths were sometimes flat or muted as were the vocals. Beaumont needs to get some real sound guys to get the sound right in there. I'd rather see Passion Pit outdoors at ACL Fest again, but not during daylight on a rainy afternoon. They're the kind of band you expect to have a good light show to accentuate the act.
@adamregicide: Ha! You're only half-wrong: I graduated from Vassar with a degree in English, and minors in angst and hookah, not vintage sweater burning. Thanks for googling.
@adamregicide
make up your mind about the show. did you study being a jackass at jccc?
Yes, the Biz Markie interlude was terrible, but I can't help but think he was pandering to the kids. Mayer Hawthorne really was out of place in this line up.
"Watered-down 'soul' music that earned the shudder-inducing genre curse of Easy Listening?" Did you study burning holes in vintage sweaters at Vassar?
ehhhhhhhhh. he wasn't good enough to save the band.
weird weird weird weird crowd.
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