warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Fitz And The Tantrums At Municipal Riverside: Show Review

Milanny Vazquez |
September 28, 2014 | 3:53 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

(Neon Tommy/ Milanny Vazquez)
(Neon Tommy/ Milanny Vazquez)
If you haven't heard of the band Fitz and the Tantrums, then you're missing out on good music.

Currently, they have three singles on the radio, "Out of My Leauge," "The Walker," and "Fool's Gold" all from their sophomore album, "More Than Just a Dream." This Los Angeles native band is definitely one to add to your playlist.

Last night, Fitz and the Tantrums, along with their opening act Beat Club, performed at the Municipal in Riverside. The venue offered three seating arrangements: Upper balcony, lower seating, and a general admission floor where the real party was at. Once on the general admission floor, people smooshed close together to try and get any advantage to be closer to the stage. Surprisingly, a lot of the crowd was in their middle ages; they outranked the teenage/young adult percentage. Everyone was standing shoulder to shoulder, anticipating when the show might start.  While everyone waited, strangers became friends, friends became more intimate, and you could feel everyone’s vibes blending into one.

READ MORE7 Underrated Concert Venues In L.A.

(Neon Tommy/Milanny Vazquez)
(Neon Tommy/Milanny Vazquez)
At 9 p.m., the opening act Beat Club came on stage. At first, they attempted to give off the "we are so cool" vibe that might have worked on some people. A couple members walked on with a beer in their hand and coaxed the audience to cheer for them even though only about a small percentage of the people actually knew who they were. They opened with a repeated electronic beat for their first song without much transition or introduction, which seemed a little confusing. They had a bit of a retro-80s electro style. There was definitely some talent and potential stardom evident, but they were just not exactly at that level yet. Some of the beats dragged on; redundancy can be a bore sometimes. There was little reaction from the crowd; they weren’t really feeling them either.

They ended their set early and after about a 45-minute wait, Fitz and the Tantrums started the party. There was a luminescent, glowing heart in the middle of the background on stage. It's the same heart that is printed on the album cover “More Than Just a Dream.”  Immediately from the moment they stepped on stage, they were stealing hearts. It was impossible not to dance and clap along to to their songs; they like to get down and dirty and get the people up on their feet and dancing.  

In the middle of the set, they added a spiked-up rendition of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by Eurythmitics. This act involved the audience with lead singer Michael Fitzpatrick singing back and forth with the crowd. There was also a lot of duets from Fitzpatrick and co-lead singer, Noelle Scaggs. Everyone saw the major chemistry between the two lead singers. Their bodies kept drawing close to each other with an intense connection while their voices fed off one another.

(Neon Tommy/Milanny Vazquez)
(Neon Tommy/Milanny Vazquez)
Scaggs busted the tambourine-hand while grooving to the music. Front saxophone man, James King, killed it with the catchy melodies and fantastic improvisation; he honestly was just feeling the moment. Also in the band was a chilled keyboards, pumping bass, and energetic drums. But lead man Fitzpatrick was permanently the attention grabber as he kept the crowd going. After about the first ten songs on their set list, including, "Out of My League," "Fool's Gold," and "Spark," the band left the stage with the crowd roaring and cheering for more.

The chanting carried throughout the whole venue and after a few minutes, they came back and finished with “MoneyGrabber” and “The Walker.” For the last song, "The Walker," confetti cannons bursted and rained down on the cheering crowd. At the very end, drummer John Wicks handed out a few of his sticks and Scaggs tossed her tambourine into the sea of people. 

Reach Staff Reporter Milanny Vazquez here.  



 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.