Even with a power outage that left the Bank of America Pavilion bereft of frozen margaritas for two hours, it was a triumphal night for a local band that's made it big. Yet it is also the start of a new chapter for Passion Pit, one where the marketable novelty of "Sleepyhead" needs to fill arenas. And with a new album that sees Michael Angelakos gaze past personal insecurities into an adulthood filled with financial and family strife, this will be a tough test. Having experienced their songs strummed in a hushed auditorium and frenetically yelled under a massive concert tent in a span of 10 hours, I assure you that they will pass (and with radiant colors) the test.
Prior to the packed show on the waterfront, Angelakos and keyboardist Ian Hultquist offered a semi-acoustic set at the Boston Museum of Fine Art. Passion Pit got their first radio plays in the Cambridge and Boston music scene, and Angelakos made continual thanks to WFNX, the alternative station that sponsored the intimate show. As Passion Pit garners more followers, endorsements, invitations to play major festivals, and an album bankrolled by Columbia Records, Boston's last independent commercial radio station is ready to switch formats having been sold to Clear Channel last month. The sincerity with which Angelakos described the end of WFNX, concluding, "that's just not right," affirmed the emotional center of a band that can easily be derided as synthesizer pop.
Live, Passion Pit is fun. Bouncy fun, get moving fun. Their shows have sometimes played with a hot-mess, hipster DIY aesthetic, no real clarity on vocals, and random folks on stage for "vibes." So, watching Hultquist carefully strum familiar songs, or the more stoic pace on "Take a Walk" from their new album, I was impressed by the tightly constructed song structure and and chord progression. These elements are often lost in the techno-colored arrangements and movements of Angelakos, but became clarified within the hushed auditorium. This is what made the performance later that night such an explosive success; even in the bro-friendly confines of an outdoor pavilion the emotive energy of the museum setting was able to be amplified for the dancing masses.
The new album, scheduled to be released on July 24, is titled Gossamer and it has been over a year in the making. At the MFA, Angelakos noted that he was engaged and that Hultquist had gotten married in the time since Manners transported the band to national attention. Putting aside the post-college malaise of "what am I doing, what are all these drugs," the new songs capture an energy that Angelakos finds in outward contemplation rather than egocentric discomfort. These songs will capture the ears of many new listeners at the Lollapalooza and Made In America festivals, and will offer a mirroring maturity for fans of Manners. And they will still make you dance.
"It's Not My Fault I'm Happy" recorded by Chris Van Slyke http://bostonthroughmyeyes.com/
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