Today I heard a song by Fitz & The Tantrums on kcrw.com which made me think maybe they might be coming to the Northeast so I checked out their website. How disappointed I was to see they were just in the area earlier this month! One night was at Joe's Pub, a great place to see any band: nice, small and dangerously dark venue downtown NYC where I just enjoyed Harry Shearer's Holiday Sing-a-long in December. The band played there the same night as the previous post (when I caught Ra Ra Riot at BAM) but the night before they were up at the Mohegan Sun Casino -- I would have happily zoomed there and elbowed out some gamblers to take in the show.
This band just makes me want to boogie big time. Their songs are at once instantly recognizable and yet a newly created hipness exudes. Yes, I'm a sucker for any guy in a narrow cut black suit and Fitz has that blue eyed soul sound of Daryl Hall, who I have many fond memories of dancing/singing along to in college. The rest of the musicians in the group have a great retro look while playing classic arrangements. They recently opened for Maroon 5 and I can only imagine how they must have totally rocked the venues with an energy that the more popular, well established band must have appreciated. The crowd certainly must have, that's for sure.
I found out about them like many others, during a live session on kcrw's Morning Becomes Eclectic back in November. It made me instantly want to book the band and throw a huge party, inviting all my friends to dance the night away. Take a listen to things on their website.
You can also hear their songs on their website, which also has a few great videos. A live version of "Breaking the Chanins of Love," shot in black and white for a nostalgic effect, gives you idea how great it would be to see them play. There's also a cute one for "Winds of Change" that has the band playing in Fitz's living room (full of vintage decor of course) while he deals with various females and at one point holding up signs for his vocals, "OOH"! I love how the homepage looks like an old record -- check it out here.
So since I missed the tour dates in the area (just for now, hoping for another swing through soon) I went to itunes and bought the EP Songs for a Break Up, Vol. 1 which is a collection of five songs. I cranked it and danced around my kitchen solo without any one else around. It only makes me want more,especially a dance partner. Can't wait for the full release.