Passion Pit – Live

To say that Passion Pit was met with rapturous applause would be an understatement.  Playing a sold out show at Crystal Ballroom December 3rd in Portland for 94/7’s ‘December To Remember’, their fans were shrieking before a note of music was played.  Sadly, due to vocalist Michael Angelakos being sick, they kept their set to about 40 minutes and no encore.  But that didn’t seem to bother the audience much, though fan favorites “I’ll Be Alright” and “Hideaway” were missed.

The band launched the night with single “Take a Walk” (QRO mp3 review) and the party was on.  On “The Reeling” Angelakos yelled, “Portland I need it to get louder,” and for the rest of the night every “Oh oh” was shouted passionately.  “Eyes As Candles” turned into a sing-a-long especially during the infectious “Na na na na na na, hey hey hey” with Angelakos holding the mic out to the crowd.  It was definitely a transcendent moment.

The band (Ian Hultquist – keyboards/guitar, Xander Singh –synthesizer /samples, Jeff Apruzzese – bass/synth bass, and Nate Donmoyer – drums) performed the songs nearly flawlessly.  There were a number of samples played throughout the night such as the sound of a children’s choir.  These filled out the songs nicely.  There was no sweetening of Angelakos’ vocals though.  It was a little rougher live but he could still hit that falsetto with ease.  Passion Pit wrapped up the night with “Sleepyhead” and “Little Secrets” and that was it.  Still, everyone appeared elated with the show despite the abrupt ending.

Set List
Take a Walk
The Reeling
It’s Not My Fault I’m Happy
Carried Away
Let Your Love Grow Tall
Eyes As Candles
Constant Conversations
Love Is Greed
Sleepyhead
Little Secrets