Fitz and the Tantrums live at Bowery Ballroom

Posted by The G on January 20, 2011 under G Reviews | Read the First Comment

Photos by G.

When I arrived at the Bowery Ballroom in New York to see LA-based band Fitz and the Tantrums on January 19, 2011, I had no idea what to expect.  Aside from knowing that the show was sold out and that Samuel, a pop/soul singer I’ve seen before and loved (and more on Samuel coming soon) was the opening act, I knew very little about this band on the rise.  Their music has elements of soul, indie rock and jazz and when you put that combination together, you’ve got a night of fun live entertainment.  Lead singer Michael Fitzpatrick has a great stage presence as he dances around and kept the crowd engaged the entire night.  He shares vocal responsibilities with Noelle Scaggs who has a great voice and watching her shake her groove thing was infectious!  The band was tight and they said multiple times how happy they were to be playing for us in New York.  The feeling was mutual as the last time Fitz and the Tantrums played Manhattan, it was at a much smaller venue.  Making the night extra special was the fact that Michael Fitzpatrick’s parents were in the crowd.

The band played a couple of new songs that were apparently written less than 2 weeks ago.  Fitz asked the crowd if they should keep them in the repertoire and the audience response was an overwhelming YES!  A cover of Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams” was also played and a video of that will be coming soon.  The final song of the night was “Moneygrabber” and Michael Fitzpatrick  broke the song down and asked everyone in the audience to get as low to the ground as possible.  Everyone followed his instructions and when he gave the word, the audience broke free into reckless abandon.  It was pretty awesome!   Speaking of “Moneygrabber,” you can grab your own free mp3 of the song for no money by signing up on the band’s mailing list on their official website!  Fitz suggested we all say hello to him and the band on our way out of the venue and pictures from my encounter with Fitz and Noelle Scaggs will be coming soon.  Stay tuned.  Also stay tuned for Fitz and the Tantrums when they come to your town.  I hope you have as much fun as I had.

See another photo and the setlist after the jump.