Passion Pit & Mayer Hawthorne Live Review

Roseland Theater, Portland
Monday, April 12th, 2010

Mayer Hawthorne and the County, this year's Dent May without the ukulele, playing 50s pop tunes. These guys are sharp dressers, and the interaction with the crowd was nice. One highlight came when Biz Markie's "Just A Friend" was used as the intro to "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out," which was an outstanding transition. They will be a good show to kick back to in the early hours at the festival, but not a show you'll see people lining up to spend $20 to see. He played the part of the old school teenage heartthrob, and had his fair share of screaming ladies, so kudos to him. There were no live horns, so let's hope they make a ton of money and add that to their future shows.

Setlist:
1. I may have missed the first song, I was a couple minutes late
2. Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin
3. Make Her Mine
4. Maybe So, Maybe No
5. Shiny & New blending into I Wish It Would Rain
6. One Track Mind (into a song I didn't recognize)
7. Green Eyed Love
8. Just Ain't Gonna Work Out (Biz Markie song intro)
9. The Ills


Passion Pit was easily the worst performance I witnessed at Sasquatch 09, but I was going to get my $30 worth of entertainment, and the crowd provided it. It quickly became evident that the ratio of chemicals in a man's hair was directly proportional the amount of chemicals his date was wearing on her face. I guess I've been attending so many shows with hippies and hipsters, I sometimes forget the Chad & Sorostitute crowd exists.

How priceless is it when the crowd hears the first couple beats of a song, starts waiving their arms and screaming, then look at each other confused as the song progresses, leading to comments such as, "wait, I've never heard this song?" The bro-hugs when a radio song was played was also fun. I've had live musical moments when I wanted to hug everyone around me a couple times, but I wouldn't classify hearing Passion Pit's "The Reeling" near the top of that list. And seriously, what type of person goes to a Passion Pit show and screams, "PLAY SLEEPYHEAD" in between songs? They have created less than 90 minutes worth of music in their career. Do you really think they are going to skip any of the songs people like? The lead singer eventually said something along the lines of, "We wouldn't drive all the way out here from Boston, and not play Sleepyhead? Settle down, we're going to play another couple songs, then you'll get to hear it." The crowd erupted, as though they also feared it wouldn't happen.

I'm not bashing the crowd, just pointing out amusing observations. If the crowd during Passion Pit at Sasquatch is anything near this ball of energy, you are in for a treat, because overall, the crowd was packed full of rowdy Passion Pit freaks, jumping up and down and singing along.

Oh yeah, the band was also much better. After watching this show, it became clear why they were so terrible at Sasquatch 09. This band needs their lead singer to sound like how he sounds on the album. I love it when bands mix it up, but the annoyance of the singers voice quickly overshadows the catchyness of their music when he is improvising his tone and beat, and that is what happened at Sasquatch 09. To exaggerate how bad it was last year, the singer walked around stage quietly speaking the lyrics, often off beat, and randomly yelping. That is no longer the case. When his voice becomes another instrument, and goes where it belongs, it really lets the rest of their music shine, which eliminates the annoyance factor. His voice is unique, but it is nowhere near what makes their music so fun. Expect an enjoyable musical experience this year, and get ready to throw your hands in the air during "Little Secrets," because that song easily trumped Sleepyhead live.

Setlist:
1-13. Who Cares
14. SLEEPYHEAD!!!!!!!!!!