Fitz And The Tantrums @ The Old National Centre Egyptian Room, Indianapolis on November 4th, 2014
Fitz and the Tantrums played the Egyptian Room at Old National Centre Tuesday night, just the second night of their “More Than Just A Dream” tour. Joined by Big Data in the Circle City, Fitz and the Tantrums tore up the stage with high energy and epic beats. Although Big Data took the stage at 8:30pm, the main act didn’t grace us until almost 10pm, making the audience restless and question the abandonment of their weekly sleep cycle. Completely worth it, as it turns out.
Big Data morphed the Egyptian Room into their own personal alien abduction with their electronic beats and robotic dance moves. After an awkward start, Big Data newcomers finally reached their audience with a cute little tango between lead singers Alan Wilkis and Lizy Ryan, followed by a sprinkle of Hall & Oats “Private Eyes”. The strong vocals of Lizy Ryan pulled us in, although she was drowned out by the music in certain songs. By the time they closed with their hit “Dangerous”, they had loosened up and let their hair down, bringing the crowd into it. And the Alan Wilkis masks were a nice twist of marketing genius to get the audience invested.
The intermission was excessively long, causing the room to get a little restless and rethink their choice of footwear. Fortunately, the main act came blowing onto the stage with high energy and saved us all from further regrets. Lead vocalist Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs might be the most perfectly matched performers I’ve ever witnessed. Michael, with his personal, one on one approach to connecting with the audience made you feel like he was singing to you. Noelle held the whole room in the palm of her hand, reaching out to the masses and making everyone jealous of her rock hard abs. As the crowd surged to their Motown beats, Michael clearly wanted to see each and every one of his followers fall in love as Noelle breaks the walls and has the room moving as one. The individual versus the crowd, Michael and Noelle know how to dazzle everyone in their clutches.
Even on their lesser known tunes, Fitz keeps the attention of the audience with crowd involvement, and the light show was impressive all on its own. Throwing in a cover as well, the Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams” was just that, sweet. Finally, after playing for over an hour with that insane level of energy, Fitz brings it down with a new version of “Last Raindrop” including an amazing saxophone solo by James King. Then the moment I had personally been waiting for all night, “6am”. Clearly a crowd favorite, everyone had their hands in the air, thoroughly enjoying the wall shaking dance party. After a short absence, the band came back with a vengeance and their popular “MoneyGrabber”. And then there were the confetti cannons. Everyone loves a good confetti cannon. Finally, closing with “The Walker”, Michael tips his hat to all the real music lovers in the room, thanking us for making their dreams come true.
Overall, an impressive show by Big Data and Fitz and the Tantrums. The audience could really feel the dedication and love the band members have for their craft. The soul, the energy, the surge. Fitz and the Tantrums were just the right kind, they were more than just our dream.