Gig review: Passion Pit in Auckland

BY BRIDGET JONES

Just looking at Passion Pit, it's hard to understand what all the fuss is about; five geeky-looking guys, who are fond of synths and do catchy things with them.  So far, so 2009. 

But there is a fuss about them.  So much so that their only New Zealand show on Friday was a sellout. And that was after the venue was changed due to high demand. 

People love these guys.

Thank goodness then, with a room full of youthful expectation and enthusiasm, Passion Pit delivered on the hype.

What started as a college student's one-man bedroom-band - formed to make a Valentine's Day present - has morphed into one of the catchiest bands of the year.

And after the release of their first album, Manners, in mid-2009, the Massachusetts five-piece were heralded as the heirs to MGMT's indie-pop crown

But, unlike their predecessors, these chaps know how to engage an audience.

Vocalist Michael Angelakos played the jet lag card early in the gig ("I’ve never had so much Red Bull in my life") but it didn’t show. 

During the set opener, the curly-haired singer air-drummed along to I’ve Got Your Number, looking a little bit like a baby bird aggressively learning to fly. The crowd went mental.  This wasn’t going to be a show for the non-dancers in the building.

Just two tracks in, with album opener Make Light, Angelakos was all over the drum kit, girls were hoisted onto their boyfriend’s shoulders, grown men were hugging each other.   By song number four, The Reeling, the singer was drenched with sweat – no one could say this wasn't fun.

For over an hour the audience was treated to a baffling combination of rocketing melodies and weird lyrics (Kingdom Come's "so now I hide in the piles/of princely orange peels") packaged into electric power space-pop that turned the audience into a heaving, dancing mass.

It didn’t stop when the band left the stage. The calls for an encore started before they had put their gear down.

A lot has been said about the somewhat average vocal performance at the bands’ Big Day Out show earlier this year.  There’s no question Angelakos’ falsetto vocal style can be polarizing. But, aside from the odd moment of sounding like a cartoon character on helium, it seems he has learnt a thing or two over the last six months . It was his natural singing voice that caused more concern when it was allowed to occasionally creep in.

That being said, their encore cover of The Cranberries' Dreams left more than a few people in the crowd scratching their heads. It was an interesting idea, but it ended up sounding a bit like Enya.  If Enya was a dude.

Redemption came in Angelakos’ final words of the night, thanking the crowd for giving them a reason to come back to New Zealand.

* What did you think of Passion Pit? Post your comments below.

- © Fairfax NZ News