(Photo Courtesy of Atlantic Records)For Grouplove’s first song, lead singer Christian Zucconi ran out on stage, hopped around with his bandmates, played the piano intro to “I’m With You,” and then decided to jump into the crowd during the second verse.
The entire time, Zucconi’s newly dyed long royal blue hair was in a constant state of motion.
In fact, the greasy, unkempt locks of the indie rocker were moving the whole night. The same goes for that of front woman Hannah Hooper and lead guitarist Andrew Wessen — a testament to the truly energetic nature of the crowded show at Tempe's Marquee Theatre.
The wailing of song lyrics by Zucconi and Hooper, the shredding of guitar by Wessen and thrashing and clashing of cymbals by drummer Ryan Rabin were spectacles in themselves. In almost every instrumental bridge, Zucconi and Hooper would face off in a head banging war, with Wessen jumping onto Rabin’s drummer stand to revel in his solo.
What was amazing about the performance was Grouplove kept this enthusiasm going for the entire show. The band jumped from one piece to the next during the first chunk of the show, failing to address the audience though still putting in 110 percent.
Later in the set they would stop for quick breathes in between songs but largely stuck to the formula of a non-stop jam session. The energetic hysteria of both the band and the crowd dissolved a bit when Zucconi played an acoustic version of the jaws theme. The crowd knew what was coming next and became frenzied at the building of anticipation. Zucconi chimed in, “It sounds like a shark attack!”
Grouplove then busted out into its latest single, “Shark Attack,” to the largely positive reception of the crowd. The song, basically about two people in the desert, dropping acid and taking their clothes off, was nothing short of fantastic. The band achieved what they presumably set out to do with the pop gem, which was amp the crowd up more than they already were.
Grouplove kept this emotion going throughout the show. There were other summits along the journey like when they played their most popular song to date, “Tongue Tied,” and the Beyoncé cover, “Drunk In Love,” earlier in the night.
Even when the group slowed it down they still brought the energy. The band is known for playing one of its slower songs, aptly named “Slow,” before walking off stage. Nothing was different Wednesday night. In previous performances, the song ends with an intense drum solo by Rabin set to corresponding strobe lights. This time the band and their pyrotechnic staff took it a little bit further giving Rabin a pair of light up drumsticks. As he hammered out the ending of the song on one single drum, the rest of the band gathered around him to finish off the set.
In essence, the Grouplove concert was a phenomenal experience with band members keeping the audience entertained and energized the whole way through. There's nothing more you could have wanted.
Reach the reporter at ehubbard@asu.edu or on Twitter @Edmund_Hubbard
