The Bright Futures Tour made its final stop in Milwaukee and played to a huge crowd in the Eagles Ballroom last Saturday. The co-headlining tour featured Capital Cities and Fitz and the Tantrums. Both bands together proved to be a concoction of crazy and peppy.
First up on the bill though, was opener Beat Club. Their sound was very eclectic and definitely indie rock with some electronic sprinkled in. They opened up with a synth-driven song with no lyrics and closed with a song that had lyrics that sounded like shouts. Although their songs lacked liveliness, I still enjoyed listening and eventually I found myself head-bobbing to the beat.
Capital Cities took the stage next and did so with “Kangaroo Court”, the second single off of their newest album, “In a Tidal Wave of Mystery.” The band had no trouble captivating the crowd with their catchy indie pop tunes along with a medley cover of Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” and Weezer’s “Undone — The Sweater Song.”
Unique to their band is trumpeter Spencer Ludwig who took to center stage for many songs. Overall, the band put on a phenomenal show with their zany beat-driven songs. One of the more stranger songs, “Farrah Fawcett Hair” was introduced by Merchant saying it was about “things in life that are undeniably good — like Nutella, and Birthday Cake Oreos.” The band rounded off set with “Safe and Sound.” Before the band made their way off the stage, a remix of “Safe and Sound” played and continued to dance along with the crowd.
The craziness did not stop there. Fitz and the Tantrums brought a retro sound to the stage. The high energy continued with frontman Michael Fitzpatrick and frontwoman Noelle Scaggs dancing up a storm while serenading the crowd with their inventive “neo soul/Indie pop” sound in songs like “Don’t Gotta Work It Out”, “Break The Walls”, and “6AM.” Mid-set, they even threw in a Eurythmics cover of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”, which got the older crowd intrigued.
Fitzpatrick and Scaggs announced that it was their last show of the tour, and thanked the crowd immensely. They were especially grateful before performing chart-topper “Out of My League” thanking everyone for listening and getting it on the charts. After a good 45 minutes of full throttle energy, mellowness hit with a slow, intimate version of “Last Raindrop.” The crowd reciprocated the many thanks they received by chanting for an encore. Of course, they obliged and played “MoneyGrabber” and “The Walker.”
Both bands are definitely headed somewhere. It is satisfying to see them praised after many years of touring, playing summer festivals, and making amazing records to gain fanbases. But after such a successful tour with many sold out crowds, it will be hard to top in their next endeavors as bands.