Walk The Moon arrived on the scene with war-painted faces last Thursday night at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre. All members, even drummer Sean Waugaman, lined the front of the stage, making an unusual yet attention-grabbing setting. A panoramic presentation left to right gave fans the chance to view each band-member as they performed their 2010 full-length release I want! I want! in it’s entirety.
Reaching capacity before show time made it seem like Walk The Moon was in fact the headliner. They played a non-stop 45-minute set, and their seemingly boundless energy electrified the audience. Fans jumped up and down while singing and pounding their fists to prosaic backbeats as Nicholas Petricca’s synthesizer and vocal falsettos pulled listeners further in. Their high-octane cover of David Bowie’s “Lets Dance” was a particular highlight of an altogether spirited set.
Their anthemic style of pop/rock fit nicely with the aesthetic of the show, but at the same time it could get a little repetitive. Waugaman, a fairly technically-focused drummer, could use some flare to diversify and enhance his style of playing, maybe even watching bassist Kevin Ray who really connected with the crowd with his infectious stage presence. However, his ability to sing and play at the same time is commendable. In fact, each band member contributed vocally by adding harmonies to the songs, which is not a feature of many bands playing this circuit. Before exiting the stage to make way for headliner Young the Giant, Walk the Moon played an encore of their new song “Anna Sun,” which was received with rapturous applause.
Stagehands hustled in between sets, making room for Young The Giant’s entrance. After a brief 20-minute intermission, frontman Sameer Gadhia, strolled out and embraced a silver retro rhinestone mic, shouting out to the crowd to pump them up for the rest of the night. This microphone was actually an additional mic with a chorus delay and echoed effects that layered his vocals together in harmony. He moved back and forth from the rhinestone mic to a regular one throughout their performance, creating a nice, stereophonic sound.
The Southern California-based band dove in with the entirety of their eponymous debut Young The Giant. The stage setup was laid out in a traditional rock format, with bassist Payam Doostzadeh and guitarist Eric Cannata on stage left, guitarist Jacob Tilley on stage right, and then drummer Francois Comtois at center stage directly behind Gadhia. The lighting went from deep blue to red, yellow and finally bright white, all according to the music vibe and tempo. This allowed the audience and photo takers a well-lit performance to watch and shoot. Comtois and Tilley seemed to be in their own worlds, as Gadhia, Cannata and Doostzadeh interacted with one another consistently. An improved stage plot and abstract decor would certainly have added to their presentation.
During the latter half of “God Made Man,” dancing fans pushed forward and tossed one another up to crowd-surf the tightly packed pit. Gadhia was amused, and made jokes about how great it was that the crowd was so active and engaged. Halfway through the set, they turned the stage lights toward the audience, and Gadhia asked everyone to pose for an Instagram pic, causing him to burst into a giant grin.
Young The Giant performed as if it was a battle of the bands between the two acts. And when it came time for an encore, they honored the Windy City of Chicago by reappearing in Jimi Hendrix-style fur coats. Gadhia kicked it off covering R. Kelly’s “Ignition,” spitting rhymes and sweating profusely (thanks mostly to the giant fur). If they were exhausted after their intense 90-minute set, though, they never let on. Instead, the band continued the great rock groove started by Walk The Moon, but proved again why they’ve already become so popular– both on record and on stage.
