Passion Pit/Youngblood Hawke/Hollerado at First Avenue, Minneapolis (10/30/12)

SET LIST photograph by Steph Paxton Tour Dates 11/01 Milwaukee, WI – Riverside * 11/02 Detroit, MI – Royal Oak Music* 11/03 Columbus, OH – LC Pavilion * 11/04 Covington, KY – The Madison House * 11/06 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE * 11/28 Los Angeles, CA – Roxy (KROQ show) Read More Passion Pit Passion Pit took the stage to much acclaim and the occasional fangirl squeal (mostly directed to oh-so-dreamy keyboardist, Ian Hultquist). The first song, “Make …

At First Ave. on the 30th for LA based pop quintet Youngblood Hawke. This was the 2nd sold out day they opened for Passion Pit in Minneapolis.

HOLLERADO photo by Steph Paxton

I walked in as the always hyper Hollerado was hitting the stage. I saw them awhile back when they opened for Free Energy at the 400 Bar. It was a similar high energy performance. The thing is as with any opener, it’s hard to play for an audience that may not have heard of you before or because they are mainly there for the headliner. Hollerado definitely tried their best. They talked a lot more than the last time I saw them. Maybe a little too much. They also tried some stage tricks like spitting beer up in the air in unison.  Anyway, I saw some people get into it. Although in my opinion playing all ages shows is easier for a band. Younger folks are easier to impress. . .

Next up was Youngblood Hawke. I had never heard of them before last month but I dug their single “We Come Running.” That song specifically reminded me of Passion Pit’s newest, maximalist album. Their set was actually very full force, like their single, they started strong and finished strong. On the first song the lead singer had broken a drum stick he was bashing on his single tom. Those guys were really having a blast. In the first few songs, two drumsticks and a snare were broken. The only time they took to have a bit of a break was when they covered Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy.” Which even then, it was still a very feel good vibe. Quite a bit of the audience knew who they were, and were singing along joyfully to the lead single “We Come Running.” They definitely did a bit of genre bending during their set. Some of their songs sounded like throwback rock and roll anthems  that were very, very glossed out, and some were pop to the max.  Overall I was very impressed, I’d definitely like to check these guys out in a headlining gig.

PASSION PIT photo by Steph Paxton

Youngblood Hawke did a good job at ramping the audience up, and when Passion Pit came on stage they were very well received. They started out with “Take a Walk,” then went right into “The Reeling.” This took the crowd by surprise and they went ballistic in response. The pit was so crowded that I couldn’t tell people apart, just arms and heads, all pulsing up, down, left, and right. That was definitely a “passion pit” if I’ve ever seen one. From then on the show was just phenomenal. The crowd ate up every song, and they sang along to everything they could. Michael even stopped a few times to thank his fans. That it meant a lot to him that they weren’t on their iPhones and snapping pics the whole time. He made it clear he had no problems with recordings or photos; it was just flattering to have such a dedicated audience. They closed the set with “Sleepyhead,” which almost caused a riot in the crowd. Then they came back and gave a wonderful two piece encore of “Moth’s Wings” and “Little Secrets.” The latter of which even  I was even being hysterical about.

Overall it was an amazing show, P Pit really knows how to put on a show and they sure picked winners with Youngblood Hawke. High energy all night with these guys. So if they are stopping by your town and it hasn’t sold out, don’t wait any longer, grab a ticket!!! Or get it off someone who isn’t going.

Youngblood Hawke at First Avenue, Minneapolis (10/30/12) photograph by Steph Paxton

oscar + stephanie ♥ passionpitmusic.com ♥ youngbloodhawke.com ♥ hollerado.com