Young the Giant and Fitz and the Tantrums both delivered stellar performances on their co-headlining tour this past Tuesday night in Raleigh, North Carolina. The outdoor show was the 21st date and out of 34 total so you could tell each band was extremely dialed in. While Young the Giant technically headlined, Fitz and the Tantrums held their own weight. Opening support was provided by Nashville, Tennessee based band alternative band COIN.
Young the Giant (YTG) tours somewhat frequently, so indie rock fans find the opportunity to hear their new music live on a regular basis. The Raleigh, NC show was no exception as they delivered the best of both old and new music. YTG opened with “Oblivion” a track off their fourth and most recent studio album Mirror Master which was released in October 2018.
Young the Giant preformed songs throughout their impressive discography including well known one like “Something to Believe In” and “Silvertongue” off their 2016 album Home of the Strange. Shortly after, Sameer Gadhia said let’s “take it back a little bit” before preforming “Apartment” and “Cough Syrup” off their 2010 self-titled debut album.
The 5-member band, formerly known as “The Jakes”, currently includes frontman Sameer Gadhia on vocals, Jacob Tilley and Eric Cannata on guitar, Payam Doostzadeh on bass and Francois Comtois as drummer. The stage design featured blue and purple lights and imagery as well as a raised platform on the back half of the stage for drums and bass covered in mirrors which seemed to be very fitting considering their recent album name. There was also a grand ballroom like staircase (also covered in mirrors) that allowed Sameer to walk up and down throughout the show.
Fans were also delighted to hear the newest Young the Giant songs titled “Heat of the Summer” which reminded us we are in fact outside in the middle of the summer. The crowd was very family friendly as you looked around the lawn.An encore included “Superposition” and “Tightrope” before finally closing out with “My Body”.
Fitz and the Tantrums preformed a very formal set which included hits like “Out of My League, 123456” and “HandClap” and tight choreography between frontman Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick and singer Noelle Scaggs was very impressive. Fitz wasn’t shy to point the microphone towards the crowd multiple times throughout the night as they sang along.
Nashville, Tennessee based indie pop band COIN was also very impressive. Fans were spotted wearing their official merchandise on the front row in various shirts. It was apparent that each band brought their own fans out to this tour.
Young the Giant and Fitz and the Tantrums tour continues throughout the rest of July before picking up Alice Merton in place of COIN for 9 dates in August. The tour stops in Santa Barbara, San Diego and Inglewood California followed by Phoenix, AZ, Reno, NV and Berkeley, CA before closing out on August 16th in Las Vegas, Nevada.
