“Advisory: This event contains strobe lights.”
If you didn’t know one thing about Passion Pit, that sign should say it all. Passion Pit, the electro-pop group from Boston, plays shows the way a linebacker hits his target: fast and with tons of energy. Every show brings something new. Passion Pit always finds a way to keep the crowd involved, even the fresh fans that can’t sing one lyric. This was my second time seeing the band and after losing the anxious anticipation of seeing a band for the first time, I was simply just excited to see what the band had to bring after the long, tumultuous past few years the band has had.
Of all the shows I’ve been to in my life, the most interesting crowds have been at the Passion Pit shows that I’ve been to. Despite appealing mostly to the hipster audience, Passion Pit still has a way of reaching even the most distant of fans. It’s hard to ignore a band that came on the scene so fast and stayed so long, despite the three-year recluse between albums. Passion Pit smashed on to the pop network with the surprisingly electric and high-pitched voice of lead singer Michael Angelakos and the pounding keyboards that accompany each song. Passion Pit is like a stripped down version of dubstep or house music: You’ll move the same at each concert, just without the pounding bass.
I knew the show started at 8 p.m. but that was about all that I knew. No other medium said anything about an opening act, when Passion Pit would come on or even for how long they would play. By the time I walked in the door at around 8:15 p.m. a group was already full swing into its set. That group turned out to be a bizarre band called Wild Belle who truly stunned me with their talent. At first it sounded like a watered down version of Passion Pit, but then I heard the horns and realized that the beat sounded much more like a reggae song than anything. The lead singer was a woman who had the swagger of Janis Joplin, confidently swung around the stage belting out her lyrics. The flow of the words complimented the changing beat and forced everyone in the stage to watch, out of curiosity at the very least. Honestly, they were one of those bands where I truly cannot explain what type of music it is, and I think that speaks volumes for their level of ingenuity. Frankly, no band could have set the stage better for Passion Pit quite like Wild Belle.
All momentum that came from Wild Belle though was quickly lost by the second act called Young Blood Hawke. The name is about as good as the music that they played. I don’t like to put down people who spend their lives chasing their dreams, but this was not an act I would ever even have an interest to YouTube. The lead singer gyrated around the stage like a drunken gorilla, pounding on one drum with both his hands, while the rest of his longhaired companions just kind of seemed to individually jam.
Every song seemed to be just a long chorus and their dreamy version of Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy” left absolutely nothing to be desired. The band’s incompetence showed when the lead singer started asking when the good party nights are and when he awkwardly boasted, “This is our first time playing in any academic…way?” Good luck to them, they’re going to need it.
By the time 10 p.m. rolled around, I was painfully informed that we would not be seeing too much of Passion Pit. Despite the fact that the whole show was booked for three hours, we would only be seeing about an hour of Passion Pit, maybe a little more. Someone should have cut off Young Blood Hawke’s microphones and treated everyone to the real show. The wait for Passion Pit is always worth it, though.
After strolling onto the stage, they immediately burst into the pounding rhythm of “Take a Walk.” The lead single off their latest album, Gossamer, was the perfect go to song to set the pace for what was to be a night of many hip shaking beats.
Even though Passion Pit only has two albums, they’ve found a way to hide some of their best songs deep in the pack of their albums. Past the singles and the hits are at least a dozen solid songs that the band can go to at any point. Some of these include “The Reeling,” “Carried Away,” and “Moth’s Wings,” all of which gave the crowd a chance to sing along to the songs that may have not made it on to any radio stations. Angelakos seems to have the whole concert thing down pat, seeing as each hit was cleverly strewn in between some of the lesser known songs. Passion Pit would explode into a song like “Carried Away” in between some of the slower songs like “Let Your Love Grow Tall” and ‘It’s Not My Fault, I’m Happy.” Just when the crowd would start to sway a little slower, Angelakos would get everyone riled up with a heart pounding chorus.
At times it was hard for me to tell some of the songs apart. The O’Connell Center wasn’t exactly the most ideal place in my opinion for Passion Pit. The previous time that I saw them was at Sunfest, a wide open music festival in West Palm Beach, and it seemed to perfectly fit the vibe. An open field gives the fans a chance to move to the music that is simply impossible not to dance to. The bleachers made it awkward for fans to bond and the floor section, set up with chairs, prevented anyone from getting together. Still, the Odome benefited Passion Pit for their light show spectacular. The strobe lights were in full affect and it was fascinating to watch a forty foot Angelakos being reflected up the side of the bleachers.
Listening to some of the more personal songs like “Constant Conversations” and “I’ll Be Alright” makes you wonder how the band even made the trip. Angelakos publicly came out a few months ago to announce that he had extreme bipolar disease and that the band had to cancel massive amounts of
dates in order to give him a chance to get his life together. Angelakos admitted to contemplating suicide and that his drinking had taken control of his life. This date at Gainesville was actually one of the few dates that went untouched. Angelakos seemed in his right state of mind while hollering lyrics like, “You should go if you want to, I’ll be alright.” The revealing of such a grand surprise seems to have had no effect when it comes to putting on a classic show every time. Every song was sung with the crispness and audacity of the album versions. At no point did it sound as if the band was getting off track or only half-heartedly trying. Even though Passion Pit has seen plenty of success, they still play as if they’re a young, unproven band chasing the ultimate dream.
By the time the show was wrapping up I was more than satisfied. It was disappointing to know that they only got to play for a little over 75 minutes, but there was no stone left unturned. The biggest hit “Sleepyhead” was covered right before the encore, and the encore consisted of “Moth’s Wings” and the popular dance tune “Little Secrets.” Passion Pit even surprised the crowd by playing “Hideaway” and announcing to the crowd that they were playing it for the first time live. On top of that they also played a song that they collaborated with Chiddy Bang on “Truth.” The only songs that weren’t played were off their original EP Chunk of Change, which in reality only features one playable song, “Cuddle Fuddle.”
I almost expected confetti to rain down over me while the band walked off the stage, just like in the “Little Secrets” music video, but there would be no confetti to rain down and no second encore. All that would come with me were the pulsing strobe lights in my head, constantly reminding me of the band that always brings the party with them.
