Surrendering to Neon Trees
By Tashia Taylor
With my friends and I being an avid concert-goers, we've noticed things. And one of them is that, for us, the more unsavory the weather, the better the show is that evening. The atmosphere at St. Andrew's Hall, while dreary and wet, was very promising. The ticket called for local band Rocky Loves Emily, Eastern Conference Champions, The Limousines, and headliners Neon Trees.
Our day started out with a four hour wait outside the venue in pouring rain. Luckily, I was able to not only have my friends for company, but was able to meet some of the most interesting fans of Neon Trees. Suffice to say, after talking with some of these people for just fifteen minutes; its was easy to see that the band gathers an eclectic following from many different backgrounds. This made for an interesting time and promised an interesting crowd later. At one point, Tyler Glenn, lead singer for Neon Trees, poked his head from the band's bus window and talked to the small group of us huddled under an awning, taking pictures of people, and meeting a young boy who hadn't met him before. A little while later, he came out from the bus and took pictures with the early birds and chatted more with the fans. A little later on, David Charles, an auxiliary member of Neon Trees and solo artist, visited, as well as Brandon Ellis from Rocky Loves Emily, who introduced himself and talked about his band's music. Just before doors opened, Elaine Bradley, drummer of Neon Trees, poked her head out of the bus to chat with fans before getting ready to head into the venue, promising an amazing show.
Once inside, my initial impression of the venue was positive. I'm a fan of the smaller, intimate venues and this was perfect for that. Merch was set up just as you walk on the floor, the stage was set up for Rocky Loves Emily, and people were settling in at the front of it. Neon Trees had been giving away meet and greets for before the show, I'd managed to get one, so I'd only caught one song of Rocky Loves Emily before being taken away. But my initial impression was, “Wow.” Even though I hadn't heard of them before, the crowd was very receptive to them and they sounded as tight as the stage looked for the six of them on the small platform.
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| Eastern Conference Champions |
The meet and greet people were taken upstairs to an open room where the band was waiting. As no one had really given any instructions for what people should do, most of the winners huddled at the door, but I was able to get some of the girls who followed me in leave the safety of the pack and go to the band. The ice quickly broke when the others saw that myself, my friends, and the girls had been able to walk up to the band without a S.W.A.T. Team descending from the ceiling, most of these people not realizing how easily accessible and open the band is to fans. We were all able to mill about and talk with the band members easily, who were all open to taking photos, sign things, and just shoot the breeze. The time went by quickly, but lasted around twenty minutes or so before we had to say goodbye and were ushered out and down the stairs again.
When we got back to the floor, Rocky Loves Emily was done and they were finishing setting up for Eastern Conference Champions, or just ECC. The crowd was thick but we were able to cut through and get third row, about center stage, easily. ECC came on shortly and launched into their first song. The crowd seemed very receptive, but it took another song or two before the crowd warmed up to their brand of rock (similar to The National, if you get my drift), which was in a different vein than Rocky Loves Emily had been in. I highly enjoyed their high energy and that they seemed to mean every single note that they put out, as each one was filled with what seemed like passion. And what was all the more to enjoy, they looked like they wanted to be on stage, like they were having fun. So many bands think they're too cool to look like they're having fun doing their job, but ECC just went with it. During their last song, they closed with all three of them on drums, just beating on the heads and the cymbals like crazy with grins on their faces. Their stage presence and energy was fantastic and left me smiling and pumped up for the next act, The Limousines.
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| The Limousines |
The Limousines consisted of two guys, Eric Victorino, who does vocals and works the crowd with his moves, and Giovanni Giusti, who works the synths, keys, and pretty much everything else. The beats and overall sound of The Limousines makes in nearly impossible for you not to dance. The music was just something fun and care free to dance to, and the crowd did just that. Victorino was very interactive with the crowd, reaching out to grab hands, talking, and shined a spotlight on the crowd at the rowdy ones.
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| Tyler Glenn |
The wait time between the last notes of The Limousines and the into to Neon Trees was full of buzzing energy. The tour seemed to pick the perfect openers to get the crowd hyped up, as people were pushing closer, eager to get as close to the stage as possible. Looking around, I saw kids as young as maybe seven or eight, and adults looking to be in their forties, fifties. I'm always amazing at the range of fans that Neon Trees has and can bring together in one place.
The lights eventually went down, the intro track played, and the crowd seemed to take a collective breath and let out an excited cry at once. Neon Trees took the stage one at a time in their stylish glory and so it began with their newest single (and tour namesake), Your Surrender. The crowd sang along and danced with Tyler easily; feeding off the seemingly pure energy the band was giving off from just one song. Not only did the band do the typical songs from their album Habits, they also did the high spirited Phones from their Start a Fire EP. As the band came around to do their popular single Animal, the crowd went crazy and danced and sang along like it was their own song and the band was their audience, which was thrilling to be surrounded by. Tyler smiled big as his audience sang along to their song so easily, directing us all like we were his orchestra. Another surprising song from the Start a Fire EP that was played was Alarm, which the crowd ate up easily with its drum work and fun guitar from Elaine Bradley and Chris Allen, despite most not knowing the song well.
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| Chris Allen |
The band closed with Love and Affection, leaving the stage quickly and the crowd still buzzing with energy. The members hadn't been offstage for more than a moment before the room began chanting, “Neon Trees! Neon Trees!” Hearing the crowd, the band came back out and did a three-song encore for St. Andrew's Hall. First, Tyler Glenn came out alone, wearing a pair of shades, singing Attraction solo as the others came back as well and picked up the song. Bassist Branden Campbell sang along during their encore songs, interacting with the crowd, singing with them as well as Glenn moved around the stage with his dance moves. They ended the show with the seemingly always appropriate Sins of My Youth, thanking the crowd.
Afterward, all the bands stuck around and were eager to talk with fans and take pictures, sign things such as CDs, set lists and more. Rocky Loves Emily members were at their merch table all night long greeting fans, snapping photos, selling the plethora of shirts, albums, and other goodies. As well as Melissa Dougherty, Joshua Ostrander, and Greg Lyons from ECC, who I found to be incredibly nice and a fun chat. The members of Neon Trees also sat at the end of the merch tables, talking to fans and gladly taking photos with smiling and clearly satisfied people.
Overall, the night was filled with nonstop fun and adrenaline as there was never a moment of boredom or wondering when a band would leave the stage. Each set was crowd pleasing and full of fun music. Headliners Neon Trees promised an amazing show and delivered, true to their word, as they always do. The band puts their all into every show, singing and dancing their way into concert-goers hearts easily. It's easy to see why the diehard fans love the quartet and why newbies find it so easy to fall fast and hard for them. A band that seems to not only make great music, love what they do, and love their fans is a band that deserves to be around for ages and Neon Trees will do just that. And just as our concert theory proved, the night, while filled with terrible weather, was incredible and unforgettable.
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| Neon Trees |
