It’s a rare occurrence for an opening act to unknowingly upstage the headliner. But that was precisely the case at the Rialto Theatre on Feb. 15 when Ohio dance-pop act Walk The Moon played with Young The Giant.
The most riveting portion of the night was Walk The Moon’s opening set. Rife with neon paint and form-fitting clothing, Walk The Moon looked like extras in an Animal Collective video, but after a few songs, it was apparent that the band is an entity all its own.
From a surprising cover of Fleet Foxes’ “White Winter Hymnal” to “Anna Sun,” Walk The Moon’s stage presence is rooted in its huge choral elements and precise interplay as a band. While that description makes Walk The Moon sound more like Local Natives than Foster The People, the band channels a revamped and revised The Killers and possesses the infectiousness of a Tiger Beat pop group with the tracklist to back it up.
The band members may be in a van for this tour, but it should come as no surprise to those who’ve witnessed the live show that they’re deserving of the tour bus. From Bonnaroo to South By Southwest, it would seem that Walk The Moon is ready to stake its claim in indie pop, making all the right moves that a budding band of its caliber should.
The night was also a full spectacle of head-bobbing songs, impressive light displays, and a diverse crowd that showed the timelessness of Young The Giant’s appeal.
Young The Giant is far more than its gigantic hit “My Body.” Vocalist Sameer Gadhia is the crown jewel of the band’s live show, and his frenetic spirit easily transferred to the crowd throughout the entire set. Alternating between a standard vocal microphone and a reverb-saturated retro version, Gadhia’s frontman act made it clear that Young The Giant songs are meant for more than just head-bobbing.
Young The Giant debuted a new track that exposed a more electronic-based framework, offering a slight departure from the territory the band explored on its self-titled debut album.
The band’s encore closing performance of “My Body” whipped everyone in the venue into a frenzy, causing the crowd to echo the band’s unintentional anthem, which created a nice musical tug-of-war. The repeated methodology grew a bit stale halfway through the set though, and since guitar tones rarely change, the rhythm section usually stands stock-still and tempos can hover around the same rate.
Aside from the temporary monotony of Young The Giant, the evening at the Rialto was complemented by the food trucks bordering the patio, an impressive lighting rig during the bands’ sets, and an engaged and encouraging crowd. It is always refreshing to find bands that can captivate an audience, and the pairing of Young The Giant and Walk The Moon was tailored for doing just that.
