On Saturday night July 30th, a packed Hard Rock Live in Orlando was the site of an evening of great pop music from three diverse acts. It was the second show of the Wrong Party Tour, which kicked off in Key West on Friday. Maggie Rose began the show with a set of soulful country pop that included songs from each of her three albums. Her husky, powerful voice resembled Grace Potter and the music ranged from slow twangy ballads to upbeat funky numbers. Despite being an early opening act who performed before much of the crowd arrived, Rose had a strong stage presence and made the most of her short time under the lights.
By the time pop star Andy Grammer took the stage, Hard Rock was filled to capacity, much of the crowd was made up of teenagers who hung on every word and sang every line of his songs. After an extended ovation, Grammer began the show not with a musical groove but with a spoken-word poem about how he believed in himself when he was said to be too old for pop, about those who supported him, and an encouragement to the fans to strive for their dreams. Backed by a full band, he then transitioned into “Damn It Feels Good To Be Me.”
Grammer played a number of his radio hits, including “Honey, I’m Good” and “Keep Your Head Up.” He also debuted a new song called “New Money,” which was again introduced with a spoken-word poem.
Throughout the set, Grammer offered encouragement to his young fans and played mostly uplifting songs. He dedicated “Saved My Life” to his godmother, Leigh, who was a major influence for him after his mother passed away. Fitz & the Tantrums singer Michael Fitzpatrick joined him onstage at one point for a duet.
Grammer’s performance was energetic. Though a bit light on musical substance, he played to the crowd, and the teens in attendance ate up every second. It’s a shame that many of that teen audience left after his set and missed the night’s strongest performance.
Fitz & The Tantrums then closed the night with a lively set of soulful pop. Though the opening performance of “OCD” was a bit lackluster, the band quickly rebounded with an excellent rendition of the catchy “Complicated.” They followed that with the two best songs of the night, “Spark,” the closest thing they have to a hard rock song, and the soulful ballad “Don’t Gotta Work It Out.”
Starting with the 2016 eponymous album, Fitz & the Tantrums took a sharp turn from pop with a strong R&B influence to glossy dance pop. The move alienated some fans and resulted in weaker music overall. On this night, however, the Los Angeles band mixed old and new songs, bouncing dance numbers with soulful struts. And even the weaker songs in their catalog were great onstage, with singer Noelle Scaggs’s exuberant dancing, great harmonies, and thumping beats that propel listeners to dance and, yes, to clap their hands.
Fitzpatrick crooned and strutted about the stage while never seeming to take himself seriously while the rich vocals from Scaggs added greater emotional heft. The Tantrums are a six-piece band that gets contributions from everyone. Drummer John Wicks and bassist Joseph Karnes laid down thick, highly danceable grooves while multi-instrumentalist James King added saxophone, keyboards, guitar, and percussion, often switching instruments multiple times during a song. But if any one member of the band stole the show, it was Scaggs. Her vivacious dancing increased the energy of each song while also bringing out the best in Fitzpatrick. It’s just a shame that her singing was mostly confined to a supporting role.
This tour is in support of an upcoming Fitz & the Tantrums album to be released next month, but it was also the first tour to feature songs from their 2019 album All the Feels, since its tour was canceled by the pandemic. So the band played several songs from it, including “123456” and the title track, which Fitzpatrick called his “favorite song on the album, hands down.”
But they made sure to mix in older songs as well. As a special shout-out to the fans who’ve supported them since the beginning, they played a lively version of “Moneygrabber.” Also included were several songs from 2013’s More Than Just a Dream, including the crowd-pleasers “Out Of My League,” “Fools Gold,” and “6am.”
After ending the regular set with “Hands Up,” Fitz & the Tantrums returned for an encore that rivaled the set’s early highlights. First up was the sax and thump dance-floor staple “Handclap,” which, like most of the songs from that album, sounded much better live. After “All The Feels,” they closed the show with “The Walker,” the pulsing synths and driving bass closing out the night’s party with a bang, and not just from the confetti cannons.
