Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Fun. Frontman Rocks With New Band

For a Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., the 9:30 Club was jumping. I could practically hear the wailing of Jack Antonoff’s guitar from two blocks away on U Street. For the second time in a few weeks, it felt great to be back at the reputable venue and even better to finally hear the band Bleachers.

I quickly shuffled through the oversized Tuesday night crowd, as the concert had already begun. The lights dropped ,and the first sight I caught was of Jack Antonoff and his 1968 Gibson ES-330 guitar as he began the riff for what would turn out to be the song “Rollercoaster”.

The upbeat tune is great for the last days of summer, with qualities reminiscent of the ’80s and its synthpop sound. As I looked around at the crowd and the fans that adore this newly created indie-pop band, I soon realized the age range would depict those who grew up listening to the origin of synthpop in the 1980s with bands like Duran Duran and Depeche Mode.

The band consists of two electric pianos that contribute to the grand, daydreamy sound that Bleachers have brought to each live performance during their first tour — 23 shows all over the country. However those 23 shows and the idea of Bleachers itself were non-existent this time two years ago, at least not to the general population.

The project now known as Bleachers began about two years ago with an independent flicker of an idea from Jack Antonoff, lead guitarist of the extremely popular indie-pop band Fun. The band blew up the scene of popular music in America only just a few years ago with their hits “Some Nights,” “Carry On” and “We Are Young.” However it wasn’t until 2012 that Antonoff began to think about creating something that he could label as his own – a project that would begin and end with his name. The band Bleachers was officially announced in 2013 and despite the creation of this new project, Jack Antonoff would still remain with Fun.

I’ve been to many shows at the 9:30 Club, but never one quite like this. There were no drunken idiots stumbling, screaming and creating the unwanted drama of getting kicked out. The concert was enjoyable; maybe it was because of the compliant crowd or maybe it could be attributed to Antonoff and the way he was able to interact with the fans.

Between songs, he interacted with the mass amount of people jammed tightly into the venue to see him and his bandmates. After one song, he recalled going for a run just the day before around the monuments and feeling like Kevin Spacey in “House of Cards” and claimed that D.C. was one of his favorite cities not just to play in but to visit as well. As you can imagine this revved up the crowd for yet another tune as they played one of my favorites, “Shadow”.

The way the band played, along with the levity of the fans that night, caused the concert to be one of the most entertaining that I’ve been to in a while. Just a few minutes later Antonoff called out to a couple from the rafters, who happened to be on a first date, and dedicated the song “Like a River Runs” to them — only after teasing that their relationship may be doomed because he had jinxed it.

The outcomes of live performances aren’t only based on the showing of the artist, but on all factors that go into the making of a show. A combination of the band, the fans, the lighting and the final encore playing of “I Wanna Get Better” made the evening great.

I knew it was coming, the hundreds of other fans knew it was coming and it was only a matter of time until the knockout single was to be played. I thought I loved the song through its album-recorded version, then I saw it live and it changed the way that I listen to it all together. With the mass amount of people singing along with Antonoff, the night could not have ended in a better way.

Bleachers will be at Soundstage in Baltimore on Nov. 22. If you’re around and up for the drive, it’s totally worth the trip.

Event Rating: A

Songs to listen to: “Shadow,” “Like a River Runs,” “I Wanna Get Better”

Bryson Greene is a senior in the College. The Beat appears every other Friday in the guide.

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