Show Review + Photos: Passion Pit, Tokyo Police Club and Brahms Caused A Dance Party at the Pageant, Wednesday, June 23

• They did not play Cuddle Fuddle. Just sayin'.

• I much prefer having easy access to tons of music, even if I do miss some particular elements of "the way it used to be". There is SO MUCH good music out there. If you say there isn't, you aren't paying attention and will end up being like the 50 year-old that says "no one writes tunes like Rick Springfield anymore". People said the exact same thing abou the music that you cherish. Not being able to see your relative place in the cycle of cultural history is a dangerous thing (when it comes to relevance, anyway).

• everything i have to say on this topic could be summed up by posting the lyrics to "Losing My Edge" but I think that's cheating. for the most part, @sk, i have to agree. i think this is a Millennial problem that's only getting worse. I say this, and in the same breath admit that I am a Millennial, and all too often that annoying person who needs to tweet something RIGHT NOW lest the free world spontaneously combust or some shit. the experience is secondary to the record of the experience. it's a phase i hope we grow out of, but we're encouraging it on so many levels, its bound to become ingrained. the way i see it, this rash of blogs that are constantly searching for the next new it band have created a jump-on-the-chillwave/witch house/glitch step-bandwagon mentality, so much so that a lot of these bands aren't making serious music, it's not even on their radar, they're just riding a wave until the next thing comes along. how many heavily hyped bands do we see lasting into the next decade? i can't even think of one right now. i liked brahms not because they're revolutionary or wholly unique, but because i enjoyed the crap out of their set. did the lyrics really "get" to me? not really. same goes for passion pit (with the exception of "I've Got Your Number"). pretty soon though, we're going to get tired of "bloodless dance music" and we're going to crave salt-in-the-wounds, spirit saving rock. right now we've just got to enjoy what's out there. i always wonder what it's like to be in one of these bands. it's got to be so damn depressing, because one day you're the newest, freshest, most promising underground band out there and everyone is falling over themselves to listen to your stuff and catch your live show, and the next, people are bored of you because you're "over," and because some 12 year old twerp has found a way to make darkwave sunshine pop or some shit. the culture was completely different back in the day when putting out an LP required more than a computer and some software. as with everything else, how precious is *anything* anymore? you can delete your entire iTunes and then go download a few thousand songs for free, there's little incentive to go the old way, spending thousands of dollars, searching long and hard for those records that will change you. you can go to a show, or you can hope someone posted a few shoddy vids on YouBoob. nothing is important because we have too much of everything. it's 1984, it's brave new world, and we're walking straight into it, too busy texting, chatting and facebooking to notice (guilty on all counts). feel free to disagree and hey, if someone figures out how to change the current, i think we'd all be happy to hear it.

• @sk, et al - I think you guys are just getting old - and by that I mean, I think as we get old, we notice this stuff more (the talking, etc). I think it has always been going on, but when we were younger, we didn't notice because we were either down in the pit getting sweaty or so caught up in the emotion/moment that all we focused on was the band. Now, we are more likely to hang out in the back, where the talkers and socializers have always hung out and we aren't as star-struck or mezmorized (and subsequently so intensely and narrowly focused on what is going on on stage) by the band because we have been going to club shows for 15 years. I bet the kids barely noticed what you noticed, because they were too caught up in the show, the event, their friends, the music, etc. itself. When you were 16, sk, and "there were songs that hit [you] so hard [you] wanted to cry almost every time [you] listened to them" I bet you occasionally behaved in a way that annoyed the older folks hanging out in the bar. Our perspectives just change a little. I sat in the balcony and was one of the first to stand (after clearing it with the folks that were sitting behind me). Within a song, most of the balcony was standing. And that was a very good development. I found it awesome to see such energy on the floor, as viewed from my perch in the balcony. It made me remember when going to a show was exciting and something you marked down on your calendar. When the adreline boost from a show carried you through for a least a day or two. That started to wear off when I hit 25 or 26, which - not coincidentally - is when I started going to festivals. My first ACL in '03 and first Coachella in '04 were incredible experiences BECAUSE they brought back that energy and excitement. It was like heroin - I had to keep uping the ante to experience that euphoria of live music that comes so easily when you are young. And that's sad. Now, at 33, festivals seem more exhausting than exciting, but I don't begrudge someone's excitement over them, even as I bitch about how crowded and corporate every fesitval now is.

• @L: Point taken. @Rih: I feel you. @Annie: I think you're exactly right, and I think that kind of gets at the same point that I was trying to make. It's started to feel like music is, now more than ever, something to be consumed... Gobble it up, approximate a reaction indicative of enjoyment (see: videophone documentation, tweeting from shows, etc.), spit it out, and on to the next one... I sometimes wonder if kids get any fulfillment out of the music they listen to anymore. When I was 16 there were songs that hit me so hard I wanted to cry almost every time I listened to them. And I'm not just talking about the heavy and meaningful stuff - party music can be fulfilling, too. There's songs from 2003 that still instantly make my day better when I hear them. Do kids still want that kind of shelf life out of their music, or are they banking on something else just as cool coming out soon? I would be interested to know the stats on kids buying (Ha!... buying...) the follow-up record to any given "it" band's follow-up album. I don't blame a band like Passion Pit for capitalizing 110% on their current fame, because it is bound to be so fleeting, through no fault of their own...

• @Rih: honestly, i think you're placing blame in the wrong area. the pageant's not to blame; it's the crowds at the pageant. i've heard crowds chatter just as much at off broadway and the duck room. i think it's just more obvious at the pageant because there's so much room in the back of the venue. heck, people were talking a lot at sting last night too. the bigger problem is crowd etiquette -- and i agree that it's sad that PP's singer had to be grateful that people were paying attention to music instead of filming stuff for youtube. people seem more interested in documenting their experience than actually focusing on having the experience. i've seen articles written about this in recent months. it just seems to be getting worse. in everyday life, music seems to be relegated to merely background noise that's playing as people do other activities. that attitude seems to carry over to shows too.

• SUCH a great show! I love it when the rest of the crowd is excited as I am about a band. Only I completely agree.. it was almost terrifying, I couldn't breath at some points the pit got so crazy! Someone took a picture of me and my friends with stickers... I dont think this is the same thing though. Can't wait till next year!

• That's me in the crowd picture! The red head!

• I think people talk more during shows in the Pageant, or maybe you can just hear them better because of the decent sound setup. Go to a smaller venue like Off Broadway or the Gargoyle, it's impossible to hear anything in there besides the music. Anyway, I thought the show last night was great. If the vocalist was holding back, I would guess it's because of his allergies or because he's saving his voice... belting out in falsetto for an extended tour can't be good on the chords.

• This show was both terrifying and awesome.

• I was the girl with the wand and the fairy dust WAHOO!

• We had the pleasure of seeing Passion Pit last year at both Bonnaroo and Lollapolooza. The Bonnaroo show happened like a month after their album "Manners" had dropped and was starting to get some airplay. There was like maybe 600-700 people there to see them play (Thursday night show), but they were great. Fast forward to August of last year at Lolla and there were thousands of people trying to get themselves around the stage because their song "The Reeling" had really taken off on the charts. We thought they were great live both times, so we wanted to see them inside at the Pageant since we had the chance. The show was sold out - majority of the ticket holders were under 21, so the downstairs was packed. I did enjoy the show - it was obvious to me that the lead singer was having vocal problems and he admitted about 5 songs into the show that he was suffering from a sinus infection. I did feel that he kind of perked himself up by admitting that and I felt the rest of the show was excellent. It also seems like now that they have been playing for the better part of a year out on the road and kind of having the whole "rock n roll" experience dropped on them instead of actively seeking it, they are sort of burnt out. My favorite part of the evening was the encore - they did "Dream" by the Cranberries. It's pretty amazing when a guy can sing that. :) So, we had a good time, but one of the things that I came away with yet again is the lack of respect of the audience for both other audience members and the bands themselves. I have literally been to hundreds of shows and I really do feel like people are becoming ruder and ruder when attending live music, especially at the Pageant. If I have paid $40+ to see a professional live band, I want to be able to hear them. Not your drunk *ss talking about how such and so is a b*tch or c*ck. If I can hear every word you are saying over amplified music and you aren't with me, then you are being too loud and rude. I am not saying that people can't talk during shows, comment on what is going on, etc and so on. However, if you are just having a conversation that you could be having ANYWHERE, then do not choose to do it during a show. Go to the bar if you want to talk. Do not stand behind me and scream about Jenny's poor sexual partner choices. Or if you have only come to see the band play ONE song because that's the only song you have ever heard by them and you haven't bothered to go out and learn more about their music, then go to the bar and talk. This is not the first time this has happened to us at the Pageant. And I think we are in agreement going forward we are going to think more carefully about if we want to attend a show there given the experiences we have had. Just remember, even if you don't like the band or only know one song by them, it doesn't mean that the person standing next to you isn't their biggest fan and has been waiting for weeks, months, years to see them. Talk before the show. Talk after the show. Just be more polite. It's not really that hard. Off soapbox.

• @sk, lighten up. You're a drag. Stop focusing on the people who are at the show and just enjoy your night. If you are unhappy with the music, go listen to your non trendy CD's alone at your house. You obviously wanted to be there since you went... so stop acting like you're too cool the be there. If you were as cool as you're making yourself out to be, you probably wouldn't have gone to the show. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. Sorry you were the only one who didn't!

• Maybe I'm just getting old, or maybe I was just in a grumpy mood or something, I dunno, but... A. I thought Brahms was vapid and trite in a way that most upstart NYC bands tend to be. They had a couple songs that approached decent but for the most part it was just a bunch of gimmicks strung together, resulting in a really synthetic and bloodless product. B. TPC seemed even more straight-forward and unremarkable live than on record. C. I was immediately struck by Angelakos' decision to sing most of his vocals in a very controlled and breathy fashion, rather than emulate the belted, visceral vocal delivery he gives on the record. I'm not entirely surprised, since I'm assuming the decision is due to the inherent "pitchiness" that might come from a more punchy vocal approach (especially in his helium vocal range). But I guess it was that same calculated and controlled approach that I felt throughout the whole set - I felt like he was holding back in order to sound "good". Since the drums, bass, and vocals are the only non-synthetic components to the band's sound, I would have liked to hear a little bit more "honesty" in the performance. Of course, maybe you just forego that ridiculous notion when you sky-rocket to fame and start selling out venues like the Pageant on your first trip through a city. I also couldn't help but feel like there were a lot of people in attendance merely because it was the cool show to be at. Or maybe they heard the band for the first time on a commercial. I guess I just couldn't get the taste of "trend" out of my mouth, and when Angelakos said his bit about being happy that there weren't people taking photos and videos on their phone just to prove they were there, it made me sad, because I think that's what that band has been relegated to at this point (not that they've been around long enough to establish any other "role" or "status"). I had kind of envisioned them as this pop band that still favored substance over style, but I wonder if their fan base (devout and casual alike) might have it the other way around.

• Not what I was expecting but definitely in their own style: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW2--1Gi4oE

• @anon changed that, thanks for the catch! my blood type was red bull last night and my handwriting illegible by the encore @Erin Menzel glad you enjoyed the show as much as i did, thank you for the kind words!

• Question marked song was Swimming in the Flood :) Best dance party, ever.

• You captured the scene perfectly in your review. The show last night was nothing short of a mind blowing, freeing experience! Thank you for giving a review true to the experience. You described what is impossible to imagine, unless you were there, quite well! Props to you!

• Third to last song was Kingdom Come-- just to let you know.

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