Passion Pit

Harlem Shakes

Troubadour - May 28, 2009

Live Review by Alex Pudlin

Last Thursday night, Massachusetts electro-poppers Passion Pit moved a sweat-drenched capacity crowd into moments of near oblivion. Opener Cale Parks got things started with a short and precious set of tracks off 2008’s Sparklace. Next up, Brooklyn’s Harlem Shakes took the stage for a 30+ minute blast of indie-pop that recalled Elephant 6 giants like Beulah and Olivia Tremor Control. Relying heavily on songs from their recently released full-length debut Technicolor Health, Harlem Shakes infused the typical neo-York indie rock sound with delicious backing vocals, drum stick clicks and a honking baritone sax that provided quite the screechy bottom. It set the stage nicely for Passion Pit’s more '80s-inspired (and somewhat hysterical) take on the pop idiom.

Even though Passion Pit came on about twenty minutes late, they won the crowd over with their very first synth waves.  And they didn’t let up. Between frontman Michael Angelakos’ keyboard and up to three more synths at once (the guitarist and bassist only played their keys on some songs)  the sonic barrage never dissipated. The Pit converted already bouncy studio tracks like “Better Things” into full-on technicolor romps in the live setting. Although the packed house ate it all up, jumping around, singing along like it was a Saves the Day show, fans of Angelakos’ lo-fi debut EP Chunk of Change may have shed a tear of disappointment that most of Passion Pit’s intimacy no longer seemed to exist.

That said, most of Passion Pit’s live enhancements more than made up for anything lost. Sure “Sleepyhead” didn’t have the same creepiness as it does on the record, but the addition of a keyboard line that sounded like murderous icicles dropping from a cave made for a thrilling new layer. Earlier in the set, “I’ve Got Your Number” soared with the addition of maracas and a new guitar, providing the ideal counterbalances to the (still present) electronic handclaps of the studio version. And when the opening keyboard swirls for “Moth’s Wings” rang out, the vision of these guys playing their anthems to packed stadiums didn’t seem as nuts as it would have a few months ago.

Angelakos’ stage presence was a sight to behold. Whenever he didn’t have a keyboard part to play, he held his hands to the heavens or did Elton John legkicks. At one point it looked like he was eating his microphone cord. He even danced unabashedly, proudly showing his true dork colors in case there was any doubt.  Furthermore, Angelakos imbued every note he sang with such intense feeling that I was convinced his squeaky dog toy voice would splinter the Troubadour’s wood beams. Plus he slapped hands with the crowd. What a guy!

Passion Pit may not hold the MP3-buying public’s attention forever but they’re one of a group of bands that signifies something of revolution. Watching Angelakos and his dweeby bandmates rollick through the Prince-meets-Wham “Little Secrets” and seeing a crowd of pretty hipsters eagerly singing the chorus made it clear that we have entered an alternate universe. It’s a universe that sounds like the '80s - except in this world the Revenge of the Nerds guys are the ones getting the beautiful people to dance. But in 2009, it felt like the coolest show one could witness. Judd Apatow couldn’t have staged Passion Pit better.