REVIEW: Grouplove @ House of Blues 11/03
Photo Credit to Grouplove’s website.
On Nov. 3, indie alternative band Grouplove hit Boston’s House of Blues on their 2016 Big Mess Tour. Hailing from Los Angeles, California, the band was formed in 2009 by current members Hannah Hooper, Christian Zucconi, Ryan Rabin, Andrew Wessen, Daniel Gleason, and former member Sean Gadd. The debut of their first EP, self-titled Grouplove, in 2010, featured their first and longstanding hit “Colours”, and they soon went on to release their first album Never Trust a Happy Song in 2011. The band quickly rose to prominence with singles “Tongue Tied” and “Itchin’ On A Photograph.” Since then, Grouplove’s popularity has steadily grown with the release of their second and third albums, Spreading Rumors and Big Mess.
Their current tour began in August 2016 in anticipation of their newest album, Big Mess, which was released on Sept. 9. After performing at a slew of music festivals in early September to wrap up the festival season, they hit a multitude of major U.S. cities from coast to coast. The group is continuing on after Boston to perform a few more shows in the U.S. before taking their talent to Australia.
Grouplove’s Boston show was electric from the moment they hit the stage. Hooper and Zucconi, the two main vocalists, pranced out onto the floor donning bright new hairstyles: Hooper a metallic pink bob, and Zucconi dyed turquoise locks. The duo (who are dating and have a one-year-old child) are incredibly charismatic and share a stage presence that many artists seem to lack. They opened with “I’m With You”, a hit from Spreading Rumors, instantly creating an exciting, fast-paced atmosphere that lingered long after the band cleared the stage at the end of the night.
From my vantage point on the mezzanine level, I could see the energy flowing through the crowd on the floor. Fans came alive to the sound of Grouplove’s wild hits like “Tongue Tied”, “Shark Attack”, and “Colours”. They also jumped out of their skin to rock out to new hits from album Big Mess, like “Welcome to Your Life” and “Do You Love Someone”. Their performance was absolutely enthralling and the excitement in the air was palpable. The passion that Hooper, Zucconi, and the rest of the band channeled into each song was contagious, and the audience was in unison with the wild, throbbing beat of their tunes.
The pace relaxed briefly when Zucconi decided to take it slower for a solo, unplugged version of “Enlighten Me” under a single spotlight, but the peace did not last for long. The rest of the band came right back in to hit the crowd with the powerful final chords of the original version, bringing the stage back to life in an exhilarating burst of color and light. Grouplove even managed to include their short tune “Bojack Horseman Theme Song”, the jingle that plays over the ending credits of the Netflix television show “Bojack Horseman”. They wrapped up the show with “Ways to Go” and “Colours”, leaving the audience intoxicated with a wild energy and passion.
I’ve seen very few artists thrill the crowd the way Grouplove did. Whether an attendee knew one song or ten, Grouplove was able to captivate each and every audience member and get them dancing by the end of the night. The beauty of a live concert, seeing the performers in person and hearing the crowd sing in unison, was only amplified seeing Grouplove, making it one of the best live performances I have ever seen.
– Carly Berke