Tons of teens, adults and everyone in between flooded the Pabst Theater on Wednesday, Oct. 30 to see Walk The Moon and openers Smallpools and The Mowgli’s.
First up was Smallpools. Comprised of four musicians, they had a very large sound and warmed up the crowd well with their upbeat indie pop songs driven by an electric keyboard. The band played every track off of their four song self-titled EP along with two new songs. To close off their set, they played New Radicals‘ iconic “You Get What You Give,” which they claimed was an inspiration to them. Give them a couple months and a little more variety of material and they’ll be headlining.
Next up on the bill was The Mowgli’s, who were quite the change from Smallpools. We go from a four-member to an eight-member band (talk about a crowded stage). The band came out dressed in zombie garb, preparing for the Halloween festivities the next day. They opened with “Waiting for the Dawn” and broke out in dance–to say they had a party on stage would be an understatement. One could get exhausted watching all the excitement. Of course, it definitely would not be a Mowgli’s set without their popular song, “San Francisco” to close.
After the two energetic openers, I didn’t know if I had it in me to stay for Walk The Moon. Somehow, I scrounged together enough energy to dance and clap along to every single song in their set. They opened up with a recording of the beginning of Lion King‘s “Circle of Life” while the backdrop depicted the image on their current album cover, a treehouse, reflected in two metal tree houses on stage. Many laughs and claps could be heard as the band entered the stage to their respective spots opening with “Next in Line.” Each band member had the iconic war paint on their faces. Their set was a mix of old songs and news songs from their album that’s currently in the works. During the chorus of “Shiver Shiver,” fake snow machines shot snow into the crowd, adding to an already perfect set. Many in the audience sang along, just how they were meant to be. The set slowed down with the band’s ballad “Iscariot” and later rounded off the night with “Anna Sun” and their encore, “Jenny.”
Like the opener Smallpools, Walk the Moon uses the typical guitars, but adds in synthesizer and piano. On occasion, a bass drum was used by the lead singer in different songs to add to the driving beat. Their style may be considered indie rock, but they consider themselves a rock band that adds creativity into their work, making them more artsy and experimental.
All in all, the show was phenomenal. Each band brought something different to the table. Unfortunately, Walk The Moon‘s lead singer said they will not be back until next year, but here’s to hoping that the other two will be back before then.