The clouds in the sky seemed mysteriously out of place for Arizona but the band that was performing at Phoenix’s Crescent Ballroom couldn’t have felt more in sync. This was a homecoming for the Brooklyn via Phoenix Miniature Tigers who are touring to promote their fourth studio album Cruel Runnings released last June.
Australia’s the Griswolds kicked off the evening with their tropical up beat indie vibes which had the crowd grooving. The band has a new album Be Impressive that is being released on August 26th of this year. Griswolds served as an energetic opener with plenty of interaction with the crowd and the fans seemed mesmerized by the opening bands soothing Australian accents every time they spoke.
The venue dimmed and a light spelled out the name Miniature Tigers on the back of the brick wall. All the décor that was needed was their instruments which consisted of keyboard, bass, guitars, and drums that held the current album title on the front of the kit. The band walked on and immediately jumped into “Swimming Pool Blues” from Cruel Runnings, a profound opener with its powerful hook and immediate swagger.
The crowd’s energy stayed high and intense throughout, thanks in part to bass player Brandon Lee’s outrageous dance moves, while playing the four string raised on-top of his head. The band was very playful with each other and after “Goldskull” from the second album Fortress, Rick Schaier (keyboard, vocals) and Charlie Brand (vocals/guitar) shared a friendly kissing moment on stage with Brand exclaiming – “Wow getting spicy Phoenix. I don’t know what to say!”
This lead into their song “Cleopatra” where Brand jumped into the audience of the relatively under 21 aged croed and sang most of the song. Schaier also was a comedian making a joke about “if you can’t afford condoms don’t use tin foil”. The Griswolds joined them on stage for “Sex on Regular” and they invited fans up on stage as many of the youngsters jumped for the opportunity to rock out with the band members.
Brand mentioned to the fans that at the last concert in Arizona he had food poisoning and was only able to play seven songs but he was glad that the fans came back and was going to make it up to them this time. And, they did indeed playing for over an hour and then coming back for an encore. The bands energy and snazzy dance moves followed them all the way to their last song of the evening “Cannibal Queen.” Miniature Tigers’ newer songs have attracted a whole new fan base, but the older fans are still holding on strong and can’t escape their undeniable hooks.
