Fitz and the Tantrums brought their infectious and soulful indie-pop to the Motor City with support from Barns Courtney.
Opening the evening was Barns Courtney from England. His blues and folk rock had the audience moving with its catchy rhythm. He tore through a brief seven-song set that included the three singles, “Fire,” “Glitter & Gold,” and “Hands,” that you can find on iTunes, Amazon, and various other music sites. The song “Fire” has a vibe like some songs by KT Tunstall and George Ezra.
Barns is currently working on his first full-length solo album. The song “Fire” has already been tapped for the soundtrack of the upcoming motion picture Burnt. Expect to hear a lot more from Barns in the coming years. The complete setlist was “I Think I’d Rather Die,” “Hands,” “Golden Dandelion,” “Hobo Rocket,” “Little Boy,” “Glitter & Gold,” and “Fire.”
With anticipation building, the lights dimmed and Fitz and the Tantrums jumped right into “Get Right Back” from their self-titled 2016 release. The audience erupted into a fever pitch. Their stage set had a background consisting of three sets of concentric rectangles that lit up in a rainbow assortment of colors throughout the evening. The whole light show was visually engaging while their sound was dialed in and tight.
They followed up with the song “Spark” from their 2013 release More Than Just a Dream. This song featured multi-instrumentalist James King on guitar with bassist Joseph Karnes and drummer John Wicks laying down the groove. One of the lines from that song, “building is about to blow,” pretty much summed up the energy in the room.
On top of that, Fitz wasted no time getting up close and personal with the fans when he jumped into the photo pit. The fans on the main floor loved it as they cheered and tried to get close to Fitz. Next was “Don’t Gotta Work It Out” from their 2010 release Pickin’ Up The Pieces. A nice opening that hit on a song from each of their three album releases.
Hailing from Los Angeles, Fitz, and the Tantrums have been building an ever-growing fan base through several albums of infectious, sing-along songs and relentless touring. They have a reputation of putting on high energy live shows that bring their fans back time and time again and tonight was no exception. They engaged the audience from the start and kept them entertained throughout their set. Vocalists Fitz and Noelle Scaggs worked the whole stage from side to side, dancing and singing, and playing off each other all night. Fitz even did several leaps from the drum riser.
Almost half of tonight’s set featured songs from their 2016 self-titled release including “Run It,” “Walking Target,” “Complicated,” and “Do What You Want.” Many of the songs are already well-known from heavy radio rotation. However, they still filled the rest of the set with many of the songs that got them where they are today including “Out of My League,” “Fool’s Gold,” “MoneyGrabber,” and “The Walker.” Those songs had the audience bouncing, dancing, fist pumping, waving, clapping, and singing along. “Complicated” also featured a beautiful, extended sax solo by James King.
One of the most popular songs of the evening was “Roll It.” Vocalist Noelle Scaggs introduced herself as the “Boss Lady” and then got the crowded twirling their arms in a circular motion along with her and Fitz for the whole song. It is yet another incredibly catchy tune that had everyone moving and singing along. It too is getting plenty of airplay these days and is slated to be included as part of the sports video game Madden NFL 17.
L.O.V. concluded the main portion of their set. This song once again had the audience energized as they danced, bounced, clapped, and sang along. It also showcased the talents of the whole band with Noelle and Fitz singing and dancing together, Noelle jamming out on the tambourine, and James King playing an extended sax solo with drummer John Wicks and keyboardist Jeremy Ruzumna.
After a brief break, they returned to the stage for several encores and launched into one of the most popular songs of 2016, “HandClap.” It’s one of those songs that you can’t get out of your head after listening to it. It has been everywhere this year, from radio to TV shows to sporting events. With its catchy beat and repeating chorus, HandClap had everyone singing, bouncing, and clapping along. It seemed on this one that they cranked up Joseph Karnes bass as you could feel it even way back on the floor.
They wrapped up their set with “6am” and the gold-certified and fan favorite single “The Walker.” Noelle Scaggs dedicated the song to Sharon Jones, a famous soul singer who had passed away from cancer the day before this show. The song concluded with the audience getting showered by confetti. It was yet another great set by one of today’s best live acts, and it would be hard to believe that anyone in attendance did not have a fun time.
The complete setlist for Fitz and the Tantrums was “Get Right Back,” “Spark,” “Don’t Gotta Work It Out,” “Out of My League,” “Run It,” “Break the Walls,” “Breakin’ the Chains of Love,” “Walking Target,” “Complicated,” “Fools Gold,” “Roll Up,” “Do What You Want,” “MoneyGrabber,” “Burn It Down,” “L.O.V.,” and encores “HandClap,” “6am,” “The Walker.”
Fitz and the Tantrums are Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick (vocals), Noelle Scaggs (vocals, tambourine), James King (saxophone, flute, keyboards, guitar), Joseph Karnes (bass), Jeremy Ruzumna (keyboards), and John Wicks (drums, percussion).
Fitz and the Tantrums are touring the US through mid-December.
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Fitz and the Tantrums
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Barns Courtney
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Event Date: 19-Nov-2016