I guess I should start with a little backstory for perspective's sake. So, you probably all know by now that the Cambridge based electro-pop quintet known as Passion Pit has had some success as of late with their 2008 EP, Chunk of Change, and 2009 LP, Manners. From massive successes of both of these albums--and the help of a little super-hit entitled "Sleepyhead"-- Passion Pit have been blowing up the music scene and are capitalizing on their success by going on tour.
Until two days ago, I was not planning on attending any leg of this tour, as I was sure that there was no day and location listed that would allow me to see them easily. But, by some freak combination of timing and luck, I found out that I was in frontman Mike Angelakos' stomping grounds (Buffalo, New York) at the time that he was going to show up with his band and have a little homecoming hooplah at the awesomely named venue, Mohawk Place. There was only one problem though: the show was sold out and had been for weeks.
Being the weird, music-loving person I am though, I showed up to Mohawk Place at the advertised starting time of 8pm to find out for myself. Indeed, they were sold out, so I decided that--instead of going right back home feeling crummy about the whole thing--I would instead stand outside in the rain asking people for extra tickets feeling crummy about the whole thing. Eventually, it seemed no tickets were to be had, but the doorman felt so bad for me that he let me in (for five bucks more than the price of a regular ticket) at around 10:45pm, which was just three songs into Passion Pit's set.
So, now for the actual review: Passion Pit wasn't very good. More specifically, the set only lasted for about 45 minutes total (including the songs I missed outside and the encore), and they had a somewhat poorly paced and oddly selected setlist. Of course, they played their two singles, but only one of them actually sounded decent. Almost all the songs besides those were pretty coolly received by the crowd; that is, besides the inevitable freak outs in the very front rows. I was also really hoping they would play "Cuddle Fuddle" at some point, but they opted instead to play things like "I've Got Your Number" and "Let Your Love Grow Tall," both of which seemed to translate rather poorly to a live setting.
For a concert that was essentially a homecoming for Angelakos, who used to be the frontman for Buffalo's own ska/punk outfit, Cherry Bing, it wasn't the super thrilling show I was expecting it to be. Actually, now that I think about it, almost nothing exciting happened that wasn't crowd induced. Case and point: when "Sleepyhead" inevitably came on, the place went nuts, with people crowd-surfing all over the place and dudes hanging from the rafters, but the song started with what sounds like sampling error (it was a bit out of sync) and then went on to be one of the weakest vocal performances by Angelakos and the rest of the band. I hope it was just an off day for their sake, because if they cannot pull off decent performances of one of the main reasons why so people know/like who they are, Passion Pit is in trouble.
The band then went on to play a couple more tunes that were greeted with some ho-hum responses, but then ended their first set with an awesome rendition of their other single "The Reeling." Now personally, I think the band should push that song in a live setting more often because, not only is it easily recognizable, but it also has those chants of "Oh nooo" that allow for good crowd interactivity and an all around good time. They nailed that song, and it serves as my one glimmer of hope that Passion Pit will eventually be great performers one day.
Other than that though, I have to say that this concert was one of the most expensive wastes of time I've ever been to. So with that, here's my recommendation: either get really cheap tickets if you have a proverbial hard on for Passion Pit, or wait until someone tells you of a good live experience with them. Until then, just enjoy the fact that they can make a satisfying album.
I'll leave you with their video of their performance of "Sleepyhead" that night. If you think it was 'good enough,' I guess you should go and see them.
Review: Passion Pit Concert 6/17/09
Posted by Campbell Bird at 4:10 PM
3 comments:
gee, you must have been at a different show or in a different city. mohawk place rocked last night and from where we were "sweating" the whole floor was going nuts with every tune. it was a great show and even the old people loved it!
I saw them in Richmond on the 8th. They played a different set list (that included Cuddle Fuddle), but it was also somewhat short (I didn't time it, but it definitely felt that way). It was a much better show than the one you described here. They played enthusiastically and helped stir the crowd even more during during their last couple of songs that included Sleepyhead and concluded with The Reeling as the encore. By the end of the show, every audience member was dancing and singing along to the choruses, including my friends who hadn't even heard the music before (this is a notable achievement for any band playing The National theater in Richmond. I've seen many shows there and never seen the crowd so into a show). It seems as though I saw a much better Passion Pit my night. From my experience, I would recommend seeing them live (especially if you're in the right state of mind for the show, as I was).
@Anon: if you read what I said, you would know that I had no beef with the crowd. They were awesome, but just a bit forgiving for my tastes. I was sweating and dancing too because it was dance music, but it just wasn't performed that well. That's the difference I want to point out to people. It's one thing to have a sold out show of hooligans going nuts, but it's another if those kinds of shenanigans are actually warranted. And, in this case, I don't think they necessarily were.
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