Crowds swarmed The Sylvee on Friday, Feb. 3, where indie-pop darlings Fitz and The Tantrums performed for a sold-out house.
The show opened at 8 p.m. with pop singer Sammy Rash prancing on stage to warm up the crowd. Rash had the charisma of a Disney Channel star, and performed a number of original songs and covers. While he had an on-again, off-again relationship with the balcony, the pit loved his energetic pop style and relatable repertoire of songs.
After a brief pause to reset the stage, lead singers Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs stomped onto stage accompanied by a hypnotic light show. Their bouncy pop sound had everyone from the pit to the nosebleeds on their feet, cheering.
The band kept the energy high throughout the concert, performing both old and new songs for the crowd. The audio engineers worked pure magic, balancing a saxophone, two singers, drums, electric guitar and an electronic beat, weaving a layered quilt of sound while managing to let the whole band shine.
The highlight of the band’s first half was “I Just Wanna Shine” from their 2019 album “All the Feels.” The band killed the house lights and instructed everyone to turn on their phone flashlights, brightening up The Sylvee with hundreds of tiny stars. Some creative folks in the crowd substituted their phones for more eccentric electronics, like one young kid in the nosebleeds waving around a bright red Apple Watch.
After a brief intermission, Fitzpatrick recounted the story of his several failed attempts to start a music career before hitting gold and forming Fitz and The Tantrums at 38. Now 52, Fitzpatrick advised the crowd that “not everyone's dream comes true on TikTok at 18 years old … Sometimes in life, you just have to keep going and chase your dreams.”
The band continued their kinetic performance, keeping the crowd sky-high through to the show’s end. To finish off their performance, the band ended with a glamorous rendition of their 2016 hit “HandClap,” which had the crowd clapping and singing along.
Fitz and The Tantrums is a high energy treat with infectious music even non-pop lovers can enjoy.
