As the last note of “My Body” rang through the in Fillmore Silver Spring on Feb. 23, the packed crowd stood, cheered and clapped to show its appreciation for the emotionally heavy set Young the Giant put on that evening.
The indie rock band stopped by the D.C. Metro area while touring behind its second album “Mind Over Matter” and added new dimensions to their already impassioned song selections.
Multi-instrumentalist frontman Sameer Gadhia led the way with a voice that stood out in the midst of the music. Every sound Gandhia uttered combined with his alternating sensual and energetic movements about the stage delivered an urgency and fervor that went beyond what the studio album had to offer.
Young the Giant began its set an exhilarating series of songs: “Slow Dive,” “Anagram” and “It’s About Time,” the first three songs on “Mind Over Matter.” As soon as the band took the stage, all eyes focused on Gadhia, who danced, struck the tambourine while singing into a microphone and shifted to the keyboard when the song called for it–all in quick succession.
The band thrilled long-time fans with songs from its debut album. Gadhia captured the heart-wrenching desperation of “Apartment,” the softness and sensuality of “Strings” and the resigned confusion of “Guns Out” in song and in movement. Every look and move Gadhia made seemed deliberate. If he was not staring into the crowd as though the subject of each song stood before him, he was rattling his tambourine, raising his arms and shaking his hips to the music.
The true extent of the band’s influence was evident in the most popular song of the evening. “Cough Syrup” engaged the entire venue, from the balcony to the tightly packed floor. Together, Gadhia and concert-goes crooned lines including, “Life’s too short to even care at all” and “One more spoon of cough syrup now” without hesitation, heightening the sharp melancholy of the band’s famed song.
Young the Giant proved that its sentimentality and emotional impact was not lost with the new album’s pronounced rock sensibilities. “Crystallized” was a love song all throughout, albeit louder than most songs on the band’s first album. “Firelight” was the most gentle song of the evening, but also one of the most powerful, with little to no drums playing and Gadhia’s vocals taking control.
The encore began softly with the dark tones and subject matter of “Camera”, but finished on energetic notes. Both “Mind Over Matter” and “My Body” addressed an undying desperation, with the latter causing the crowd the jump eagerly in response.
From the beginning to the end of the event, Young the Giant made it clear that it had one thing to set it apart from just any other band–they played with heart.
