Photos & Words by:Thai Tran
You don’t send a fat kid to do a review on cake. That’s how I feel about this particular review – all professional objectivity was thrown out long before the lights came down on the Troubadour stage Monday night as the indie-pop band Fun. rocked the sold out Hollywood crowd. We’re very eclectic here at LNS and Fun.’s just one of those bands where you really can’t go wrong, no matter where your musical tastes lie. My personal views on the band had already been cemented after the 2009 release of their debut album aim and ignite. To this biased bystander, Fun.’s just a band that got it right.
First off, they are a solid pop band. Not since the The Postal Service’s Give Up has an album been so packed with harmonies and melodies that make you want to sing out loud. I do have my favorite tracks, but the album as a whole is so well-rounded that you rarely find yourself skipping songs. Lead singer Nate Ruess, former frontman of The Format, has a distinct voice that complements the catchy lyrics in a charmingly natural style.
There was an air of anticipation in the air before they made their way to the stage. Half of it due to the show being completely sold out, so you know you got some dedicated fans in the house. The other half being the excitement over hopes of hearing new songs off their sophomore album Some Nights, due to be released in late February of next year through the label Fueled by Ramen.
They came on stage to a roaring ovation and broke right into their new album with a strings intro. Everyone knew they were in for a special night when Nate told the crowd that they were going all out. Los Angeles was special to them because that’s where many of their friends and family were. Also Nate’s parents came all the way from Arizona to hear songs off their new album and the band even brought a whole strings section to accompany them for this particular show.
The crowd swayed approvingly at the new title track “Some Nights,” before bursting out into a group sing-a-long when “Walking The Dog” came on. The set included almost all of Aim and Ignite, with mixture of new songs. The strings were amazing all night, accompanying the band for “All The Pretty Girls,” “The Gambler,” “Carry On,” which was a new song, “At Least I’m Not As Sad,” and finally their new single “We Are Young.” An awesome acoustic version can be found here.
The show, the band, and the crowd had a very intimate mood that night. Nate had an ear-to-ear smile the whole time as he moved all around the stage comfortably; making the show feel like it was in the basement of a buddy’s house. I think we all got that feeling where we forgot we were at a concert and were just watching some friends jam. Then you buy a beer for 8 bucks and get pulled back to reality.
Encore began with the crowd favorite “Be Calm,” followed by a new song called “One Foot” and finally ending with “Take Your Time.” This band’s just got it right. The concert was extravagant in its own way, with a band that definitely knows how to put on a show. The chemistry was definitely there and that’s the stuff that fans definitely feed off of. But again, the lens I brought to the show was biased from the start. It’s OK though – objectivity’s overrated anyways.
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