Every new venue I come across overseas, there's always the expectation that it will be as big as the Metro or Riviera given the names on the bill. So with trepidation I entered the Nouveau Casino for Passion Pit's first show in the city. Given the hype following the Massachusetts electro indie pop group in the States, you'd expect nothing but another big venue. Though, like other recent examples here of Alkaline Trio playing a venue smaller than the Fireside and Hold Steady playing somewhere smaller than the Bottom Lounge, there was the astonishment to see Passion Pit playing a 350-400 person venue on a random Monday night.
The manager's videographer was caught by surprise that the show sold out with little press at all over here, contrary to our blogs' and music press' coverage. During the opening DJ's set, a random mishmash of tracks covering TLC, Nirvana, funk among others, you could move around easily as long as you dodged the scooter helmets attached to people's hips. Halfway into Passion Pit's set however, this flipped. Every step of the staircase was jammed (it'd be a fire hazard back in Chi-town), balcony brimming, and the cleverly conceived second floor glass-enclosed "smokers room" packed.
Audiences are often unpredictable here. Unlike shows in the States, most people take an observing point of view, as if watching a movie. Given they're still new and fleetingly featured in one of the free daily papers (20 Minutes called them a mix between Scissor Sisters and Fatboy Slim), people seemed hesitant to burst into dancing when I've Got Your Number started off the night. Moments later, Better Things loosened the crowd and got the floor dancing away. Michael Angelakos and the rest were completely relaxed, not bothering to try French much, though explaining that his wasn't that great, even though "the last time I was here was on a French exchange."
Though everyone was holding out for the stellar psychedelia of "Sleepyhead," I was personally skeptical on both how the EP would hold up as well as the new material from their upcoming debut album, Manners. No track titles were given during the show, save the finale. Chunk of Change dominated the set and was far more illuminating, far more uplifting performed live with gels of color sweeping over the crowd. The new material follows the same schema, solidifying their sound, though "Seaweed Song" will become the penultimate favorite. After calls for an encore (who'd've thought encore isn't encore, but "bis" over here), "Seaweed Song" closed out the night with Michael alone awash in dark blue light with his keyboard. The electric equivalent of a poignant acoustic ballad, it's a sweet interjection in their catalog of bobbing, bright electropop.
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Posted by: casino bonus lists | 04/07/2009 at 09:28 PM