fun.
Terminal 5, New York, NY
June 17th, 2012

With a band name encompassed by just three letters, after catching the second of fun.’s two night sold out stand at Manhattan’s Terminal 5, they might be better served to change their moniker to a more appropriate adjective: wow. The hometown New York City three-piece wasted little time dilly-dallying during their raucous 75 minute set, with a show spanning most of the band’s two releases to date. Igniting a good-time fire under an already amped up crowd, fun. brought an additional three touring musicians on stage with them to layer even more of the infectious sound created by 2012’s biggest breakout band.

Catapulted to prominence from the success of their Billboard Hot 100 chart topper “We Are Young,” Terminal 5 was as sold out on Sunday night as any show there in recent memory. The younger skewing audience filled the standing room only floor space, as fans similarly swarmed the second and third level barricades to catch bird’s eye views of the exciting young band. At just after 9:15, the house lights dimmed to a thunderous ovation, which managed to amplify higher and higher as each band member took their place on the stage. The band wasted little time getting started and in a pleasant surprise, mixed up their setlist on night two. Opening with “One Foot,” an infectiously pounding tune reminiscent of something you’d hear on a drug induced merry-go-round ride, fun. immediately rallied the crowd together with rebellious fist throws toward the sky. “Walking the Dog” and “Why Am I the One” continued more of the same catchy, power pop choruses- in fact, just about any of the band’s first 7 or 8 songs could easily double as radio friendly singles.

Sporting a denim jacket over a throwback Denver Nuggets jersey, skinny jeans, and a pair of marked up white Chuck Taylors, frontman Nate Ruess comfortably controlled the crowd from the start, with his impressive high pitches missing nary a note. “All the Pretty Girls” blended a perfect marriage of Freddie Mercury inspired rock vocals with hints of Billy Joel melody and a punch of Broadway show style catchiness, while “Carry On” shared the same Queen like range with its slow build toward a defiant, screaming chorus. Meanwhile, the illuminated video boards behind the stage shined flashing lights upon a sea of hands clapping overhead to the band’s every provocation. The band’s musical formula for creating their songs certainly seems inimitable- being sung almost as if Ruess is telling a story with tempo shifts that jump from slow to fast, paced almost at the singer’s will. But however the songwriting process finds its way to a completed form, the final product comes together so admirably that even as you recognize the band’s eccentricity you simply cannot help but be captivated by it.

Unfortunately Sunday night proved that if nothing else, we were perhaps the last ones to find out about the party. With each song, the capacity crowd sang alongside Ruess’ every word, acting as the band’s appointed seventh member. During “We Are Young,” Ruess himself could barely be heard among the unified collection of voices joined together inside the venue, passionately promising to “set the world on fire.” And as the colored streamers were launched during the band’s encore- their latest single, “Some Nights” and “Take Your Time”- the New York City faithful rallied once again, to give the local band a rightful and deserved sendoff- standing and applauding loudly, while non-verbally begging the band to return home for more.

- Jane Van Arsdale

fun. – Terminal 5

New York, NY

June 17th, 2012

1. One Foot
2. Walking the Dog
3. Why Am I the One
4. All the Pretty Girls
5. It Gets Better
6. At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used to Be)
7. Carry On
8. The Gambler
9. Be Calm (Acoustic)
10. All Alone
11. Barlights
12. We Are Young
13. All Alright
14. Some Nights
15. Take Your Time (Coming Home)