fun. + Tegan and Sara @ Ambleside Park – August 31st 2013
As the sun set over the crowd at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, the sweet sounds of New York based indie pop sensation fun. filled the air. It was a magical night. One which perfectly capped off one of the most beautiful Vancouver summers on record.
I entered the venue midway through the four-band performance, missing out on both Gold & Youth and Mowgli. Looking around it was easy to see everyone was having a great time, with smiles and booze all around.
Working my way around, I found a spot near the front of the stage, and setup residency.
It wasn’t long before the stage lights dimmed and the Canadian indie duo, Tega and Sara, took the stage. With a few words to the eager audience, they dove into their set.
As usual they were delightful. Their live sound has become way more ‘poppy’ over the years. They have even added more catchy beat layers to earlier songs, to really round out the performance.
My two favorite songs of the night were The Con and I’m Not Your Hero, which had an extra passionate kick to them.
At the end of the set, they thanked those in attendance and retreated to the comforts of the backstage area.
As I waited for the main act to take the stage, I entertained myself with a little people watching, which is my favorite thing to do. A few people had had a little too much to drink, and were acting a fool. It was really fun to watch. My favorite point was when two such people tried to figure out where the bathroom was. They argued with one another for about 10 minutes. This all took place 15 feet from the entrance to the bathrooms, too funny. Anyway, back to the concert.
The lights on the stage once again dimmed, and the members of fun. filtered onto to the stage, sporting black and white tuxes. They started the night with the intro of Some Nights, to which the crowd erupted with applause.
The band then shed the snooty attire and with no introduction, brought a high energy performance to the stage. Nate Ruess, the lead singer, and Jack Antonoff, the lead guitarist, were the key members of the band. They worked the front of the stage, quickly building that perfect symbiotic relationship with the crowd before them. Feeding off one another, causing the energy level to amplify.
By the time the band reached their fourth song of the night, Why Am I The One, the whole venue was dancing their asses off. It was really quite the site to see.
I was thoroughly impressed with Nate, he is all over that stage. He worked the hell out of the crowd, and puts every bit of himself into his performance. If you get a chance to see this man perform, you need to jump at the opportunity, because this train is going nowhere but up.
By the end of the show, the people filtered out of the park. A bunch of trampled grass and a ton of crushed plastic cups were all you could see. The wonderful volunteers then swooped in and within 10 minutes, it all looked like it had never happened.
This was the perfect concert to end the summer. It was happy and it was extremely fun (sorry for the pun).
Thank you to the members of Tegan and Sara and fun., you both brought a set of beautiful performances to our fair city.
