By Ian Rapoport
Executive Arts Editor
It is rare that a band like Fun. is able to so quickly ascend to the heights of commercial success. But when it comes down to it, the young group is more than deserving of their newfound success.
Perched in the rolling hills overlooking Santa Barbara, Fun. performed on Sept. 7 at the Santa Barbara Bowl as part of their “Most Nights Summer Tour.” The band exhibited their Grammy winning talent, delivering an exciting and engaging performance that demonstrated the young group’s talent and was simply put, fun.
Formed in 2008, Fun. is comprised of musicians Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff. Their first album, “Aim and Ignite,” was met with moderate success, but the band didn’t break out until the release of it’s second album, “Some Nights.” Not only did the album excel the group to commercial success, but also won them the Grammy for Best New Band and Song of the Year, “We are Young.” The band is currently on it’s “Most Nights Summer Tour” for the remainder of September.
The concert opened with a performance from Canadian duo Tegan and Sara. The indie rock sisters delivered an outstanding performance to start off the night. The standouts of their performance was “Feel It In My Bones,” which was accompanied with strobing lights that accentuated the songs techno vibe, and their finale of “Closer,” in which the songs lyrics were displayed behind the band inviting the audience to sing along.
Fun. took the stage by storm, opening with their hit “Some Nights.” The trio stood in the corner of the stage dressed in tuxedos as the screen behind showed scenes of their previous performances. As Ruess’s voice rose in intensity the screen quickly became a speedy blur of the band’s past triumphs, then the lights cut and the stage was engulfed in black, until only seconds later the band reappeared having shed their formalwear. When they began “One Foot,” the audience was sent into a fit of excitement.
The band continued their performance in a constantly energetic state. This was most apparent in Ruess, who was bounding across the stage and constantly keeping the crowd engaged. He regularly held the microphone to the audience, prompting fans to join in, and capturing the exhilarating atmosphere.
Although Fun.’s drive was thoroughly entertaining, it became overbearing at some points. The first half of the concert lacked any slow moments in order to provide balance to the intensity. A disappointing element of the performance, the small venue of the Bowl presented the obstacle of very little opportunity for creativity.
One of the groups final songs was a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.” The performance carried the liveliness that was already present, but also carried an 80’s tone that was different for the band.
Fun. returned, for an encore and finished with “Some Nights.” The performance concluded with “Stars,” which was significantly slower than and more mellow than the rest of the concert. It added the variety that been previously lacking, and elevated the intensity as the fans were sent back into the night.
With that, Fun. delivered an outstanding performance that demonstrated the young group’s spirit and showmanship, illustrating just what won them Best New Artist.
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