PASSION PIT Live @ Southampton University

Walking into the SUSU I was surrounded by quirky attempts at Halloween costumes worn by over excited teenagers who partly made me want to linger at the back of the bar let alone the venue. With the first support act “The Joy Formidable” playing was interesting however it was an excuse to hit the bar, next was Max Tundra who was bizarre and caught attention especially with his strangely and almost robotic dancing. Then entered Passion Pit and the room filled as you could hear waves of screams from the excited fans on Halloween, the guitarist enters in a red and white silk boxing robe to the Rocky theme tune making everybody in the building aware that it’s his birthday which was a dramatic and impressive beginning to the show.
I have seen Passion Pit previously at this year’s Reading Festival in the NME tent, and was shocked by the livelihood of the band but in an enclosed venue they blew me away; believe it or not a male voice can reach such a high pitch! When the performed “Little Secrets” the audience sang their loudest and Michael Angelakos seemed surprised at the volume of what I thought was a reasonably small crowd. Their best known and in my opinion most energetic and exciting song “Sleepyhead” was performed with great power and even those who had previously stood quiet and observant couldn’t help but let loose.
Throughout the performance I would find it difficult to fault the band especially considering their encore, playing “The Reeling” the previously knackered audience were rebooted for another 3 minutes of dancing and screaming for a vivacious finale to the show. Next time Passion Pit play I’m sure to get tickets, as I couldn’t fault their performance and thoroughly enjoyed it.

SINGLES CORNER! 09/11/2009

DANIEL MERRIWEATHER – Water & A Flame
Columbia

Duetting with Adele, produced by Mark Ronson… Merriweather certainly has his bases covered! It’s not a bad ballad though, if nothing too exciting. To be fair though, if you like what Merriweather has already released, you’re likely to love this.

THE MOONS – Torn Between Two
Acid Jazz

There’s pedigree here. Frontman Andy Crofts plays keyboard for Paul Weller, and the band also features Chris Ketley of The Rakes. There’s a psychedelic Scouser feel to this, in fact it’s a tune that would sit comfortably on early albums by The Zutons or The Coral. Unlike the latter though, this sticks close enough to a pop format to make it radio friendly too.

FORTUNE – Highway
Distiller Records

If I told you Fortune were from France, what would you expect? If you said shimmering electro to set dance floors alight, you’d be right. Following in the footsteps of Daft Punk and Justice, this is a dance floor friendly few minutes that is well worth checking out.

BRAKES – Why Tell The Truth
FatCat

Starting with a gentle strum, this track lulls you into a relaxed state before launching into a rousing chorus and just as quickly back again. Not the most fresh and unique approach, but why mend a formula that isn’t broken?

PASSION PIT – Little Secrets
Columbia

More feel good electro-pop from a band whose hype I don’t quite understand if I’m honest. Still, this is a track that might have been really refreshing in June, sadly though it feels really quite out of place in November