On the night of Monday, September 20th, Cincinnati, Ohio based band Walk the Moon flew in from a dream for their 2021 ‘Dream Plane’ tour in the sunshine city of St. Petersburg, Florida. Alongside them and opening the show was Los Angeles based artist Jany Green. As the gates opened, the crowd immediately filled the Jannus Live venue, as fans of all ages all made their way to the best spots to view the show.
Hailing from Anchorage, Alaska, Jany Green made his move to Los Angeles to break out of the negativity that surrounded him. After planting his feet in the city of angels, the young artist began making his own sounds of joy and optimism. Utilizing the genres of hip-hop, indie and pop, Green sewed together his signature style that focuses on the emotions surrounding love. After the release of his debut album Lost in Love in August, Green soon joined with Walk the Moon to accompany them on their 2021 Fall tour.
As his set time approached, Green quickly took to the stage to address the crowd before he became a blur of motion. As he moved across the stage, Green gracefully danced and sang through his set without a second to pause. The young artist put on a nearly hour long set as he got the crowd electrified for the main show.
Waving goodbye to a roar of applause from his new found fans, Green exited the stage with his touring band members for the stage to be set. Originating in Cincinnati, Ohio, Walk the Moon first formed in 2006 by lead singer Nicholas Petricca while still a student at Kenyon University. A few years later, the band released their debut album I want! I want! in November of 2010, with their song “Anna Sun” quickly rising in popularity and bringing them the attention they deserved. By 2011, the band signed with RCA Records and a year later released their first major label studio self-titled album (QRO review). In 2014, the band released one of their most popular records, Talking is Hard (QRO review), with the song “Shut Up and Dance” from the album reaching fourth position on the Billboard Hot 100. After many changes in the line-up, the band now consists of Petricca on lead vocals and keyboard, Sean Byron Waugaman on drums, Eli Brose Maiman on bass and guitar, and touring member Lachlan West on keyboards.
As the band took the stage under the blue glow of the lights, they quickly transitioned into their song “Portugal” from their 2014 hit release. As Petricca played out the opening notes of the song, he swiftly grabbed the mic from the stand and began to move across the stage interacting with the crowd as his iconic voice bellowed into the night. As they started out with some of their older sings, the Petricca and the others soon started “One Foot” from their 2017 album What If Nothing.
Moving through their set, the band took a break from their heavy instrumentals to a stripped down acoustic version of “Kamikaze” from Nothing. As Maiman’s guitar accompanied Petricca’s vocals, the crowd soon joined into the song, singing every lyric from the heart.
In between songs, Petricca soon brought out a birthday cake with candles, as the whole crowd began to sing happy birthday to Waugaman, as he pounded the drums in beat before blowing out the candles. Taking the time to sing happy birthday to a few more fans, Petricca soon began to entice the crowd by waving his hands and having them crouch up and down with him, before bringing back the full energy of the night.
Finishing off the main set with “Shut Up and Dance”, Petricca started the opening lyrics then quickly turned the mic to the crowd as they finished it off:
“This woman is my destiny,
She said oh oh oh,
Shut up and dance!”
Without a foot left on the ground, both band members and the crowd alike were on their feet as they danced through the night, with many groups taking up small circles to dance around in joy under the cloudy night.
Before closing out for the night, the band made one last appearance as they opened their encore with a cover of “Burning Down the House” by The Talking Heads. As they finished up their cover, the band then moved immediately into the final song as Petricca shouted out: “I want everyone singing along for this last one! Give it everything you’ve got left!”
And soon the night was filled with even more vocals, and not just Petricca’s. Closing out with their first hit “Anna Sun”, Petricca climbed on all sides of the stage so that he could better interact with the hundreds of fans that came out to see them. As they moved through the song, Petricca once again turned the mic to the fans as they sang the chorus before the drop:
“What do you know, this house is falling apart
What can I say, this house is falling apart
We got no money but we got ha-heart
We’re gonna rattle this ghost town
This house is falling apart”
Ending their encore, Waugaman began to toss his drum sticks to the crowd while Petricca and Maiman tossed setlists to the front row fans. Bidding goodbye, the band exited off the stage and through a gated portion of the venue, as more fans cheered to them for the last time, and they moved into the upper balconies to relax for the night.
