Concert Review: fun. in Columbus, Ohio

The last time I saw fun. was at Slim's in San Francisco. A couple of local bands opened for them, and they played a powerful set to a few hundred people. It was a small show that has to be one of the best ones I've ever been to.

Thursday night, I had the pleasure of seeing them again, with another of my favorite bands, Miniature Tigers, opening. The show was originally set for the Newport, a smaller Columbus venue, but there was such demand that it was moved to the Lifestyle Communities Pavillion, a venue that will hold around 2,200 people- and it still sold out. The line at 6:00 reached all the way down the block.

The show started at almost exactly 8:00. Miniature Tigers took the stage mostly unknown and played a knock-out set. Charlie Brand displayed his usual ability to engage a crowd, despite the fact that the crowd was much larger than a typical Miniature Tigers turnout.

Miniature Tigers

Miniature Tigers played a forty-five minute set that was a pleasant mix of their first three albums. Although Brand's voice seemed a little worn from several months of touring, he still remained on-key and belted the tunes out. I was already a fan, but most of the rest of the crowd also seemed convinced. 

There was a decently short wait time between acts, and fun. took the stage to uproarious applause. 

Fun. played an energetic set true to my memories of them...except more. The crowd seemed to dance and sing along to every song, but the music was still audible- and properly mixed- over the top. 

Fun. pounded through their songs, playing the popular "We Are Young" somewhere in the middle of the set rather than saving it for the encore as I expected they would. They performed a version of "The Gambler" that brought tears to the eyes of some patrons. 

It was clear before the group left the stage that there would be an encore. The crowd's claps and cheers and yells went on for only a few minutes before fun. returned to the stage. They kicked off the encore with a cover of The Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" that seemed to improve on the original and blow the roof off. The show ended as fun. shows generally do, with "Take Your Time Coming Home," played gorgeously despite the crowd's constant cheering making it difficult to complete the softer section.

If you enjoy fun.'s music at all, I strongly recommend getting out to see them live. They put on a consistently excellent and lively show no matter what the crowd size is like.