fun. at The Troubadour in Los Angeles, CA

When you call your band fun., there is a lot to live up to unless you’re being ironic and playing something sleepy and dreary.  Luckily, fun. are not being ironic and put on a set that made the crowd dance, bounce and enjoy every moment at the sold out Troubadour.

With a vibrant light setup and an accompanying string trio, fun. brought their brand of theatrical-like piano indie rock strong.  The set packed favorites off their debut album Aim & Ignite like “Walking the Dog” and “All The Pretty Girls”, but also features a handful of new songs off the bands forthcoming sophomore release Some Nights. The band has been performing a handful of these new songs over the last several months and you can tell this was a dedicated crowd since many knew the lyrics to songs like the brand new single “We Are Young” (a song set to be included in a forthcoming episode of the TV series Glee).

Beloved lead singer Nate Ruess’ vocals were spot on all night as he interacted with the crowd and band members throughout the set.  Keyboardist Andrew Dost pulled triple duty playing flugelhorn, and assisting with percussion as well.  Guitarist Jack Antonoff moved almost as much as Ruess, playing off bassist Nate Harold’s energy and even banging a drum or two with drummer Will Noon.  Emily Moore also played multiple roles with her addition of keyboards, acoustic guitars, and vocals, not to mention a charm and aura that was a magnet for attention whenever she sang or walked across stage.

The atmosphere on and offstage was like a giant party and at times you don’t know when the band ended and the crowd began on sheer excitement and energy.  Fans were clapping and singing all night and the power of the people even threw a wrench into the band’s set list.  The moment the band left the stage after “We Are Young” pre-encore, instead of chanting “Encore!” the crowd immediately chanted in unison “Be Calm! Be Calm! Be Calm!” a reference to the opening track off Aim & Ignite.  The band knew they had no choice but to give it a go and made a solid effort at the tune with help from the fans with some of the lyrics and vocals.

All in all, the night was a giant party. With barely two albums under their belt fun. is a band that are experts in giving a crowd a fun show.  One can only imagine an exciting night like this in a bigger setting like The Wiltern or Hollywood Palladium, which are the kinds of venues fun. are surely skyrocketing towards with their momentum.

Setlist:
Some Nights
Walking The Dog
Light a Roman Candle with Me
All the Pretty Girls
All Alone
Barlights
The Gambler
Carry On
At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used to Be)
We Are Young

Encore:
Be Calm
Take Your Time (Coming Home)

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