Concert Review: Young the Giant

You may remember I reviewed the new Young the Giant album, Mind Over Matter, upon its release just about one month ago. I said it was a decent album, but nothing in comparison to their first, self-titled debut. After seeing the band live Tuesday night in St. Pete, I was left with very much the same feeling.

Young the Giant put on a “good” show to a sold out crowd at Jannus live. Front man Sameer Gahdia, despite admitting to having a cold, still sounded great as he sang and interpretively danced on stage. If it was my first time seeing them, I would have been much more satisfied. However, I know that this indie rock band is capable of much more than they displayed at this concert.

It became clear very early that the group was going to center on their new album. Just like Mind Over Matter opens, the guys came out to the long synth crescendo of “Slow Dive,” before opening with “Anagram.” This flew right into rock heavy “It’s About Time,” showing off Sameer’s full vocal capabilities.   

For me, my favorite moments of the concert were when the band returned to play songs off their debut album. You can easily tell which songs came off the debut by the background sound of these tunes, as well as the crowd’s reaction to them. The fans at Jannus definitely were louder for songs like “Apartment,” “Strings,” “Guns Out,” and “I Got.”

As I mentioned in my album review, the new album is pleasant background music, but it’s nothing too exciting live. The concert began to feel long from songs 7-12. I felt as though the group almost lost the crowd before playing their best song, “Cough Syrup,” to spark some energy. They ended on a high note with “Crystallized,” the strongest song off the new album to finish the set.

So for the show I saw back in 2012, the best part was arguably the encore. Young the Giant brought opening act Grouplove on stage for a cover of R Kelly’s “Remix to Ignition.” It was easily one of the most unexpected and best covers I’ve ever seen a band perform live. Sameer then dismissed his band to play a chilling acapella version of “Islands,” before brining the guys back for the ultimate closer, “My Body.” Gahdia crowd surfed while singing, providing the show with its proper ending.

Two years later, Young the Giant failed to live up to that caliber of a performance with their encore. They made a surprising choice by coming back on stage with “Camera.” This was too slow though, and the crowd didn’t get much more into it with self-titled track “Mind Over Matter.” “My Body” once again ended it, which was great to see the crowd jumping and singing as one to close the show.

In total, the 90 minute set from Young the Giant included just 6 songs from their debut album, and 11 (out of 13) from Mind Over Matter. 

Young the Giant are still towards the beginning of their US spring tour. They’re also on the bill for Firefly and Bunbury Festivals this summer. Maybe even a stop at Lolla?

CONCERT RATING: 3 Stars

SETLIST:
1. Slow Dive

2. Anagram

3. It’s About Time

4. Apartment

5. Strings

6. Guns Out

7. Waves

8. Teachers

9. Firelight

10. I Got

11. Eros

12. Paralysis

13. Cough Syrup

14. Crystallized

ENCORE:

15. Camera

16. Mind Over Matter

17. My Body