All the best shows start the moment you find out you’re not on the will call list. It had been another blistering day in the always sunny Philadelphia, and my friend/photographer Chris and I had just biked 30 minutes across the city to the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Fairmont Park. To the best of our knowledge we were going to pick up two tickets and a photo pass to see Passion Pit that night. Our high spirits were soon crushed, however, when the man behind the glass returned with Chris’s ID shaking his head. After more pleading with the man, assuring him that we had just talked to the people we were supposed to be working for and that we were in fact on the will call list, his manager came out with two tickets, explaining that we weren’t on the list but he was going to give us two tickets anyway so that we could still see the show. The only catch was we weren’t getting a photo pass, which meant Chris’s camera could not come inside. Since the hour round trip home didn’t seem like an option, we came up with the brilliant idea of hiding the camera in the woods of Fairmont Park in West Philadelphia. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the city of brotherly love, this is roughly equivalent to walking up to a homeless man, handing him your belongings and saying “here, take these.” Needless to say, Chris was on edge, but since there was no re-entry, we didn’t have a lot of options.
By the time the ticket situation was settled, we had missed opener Brahms. No matter, we found our complimentary seats and waited for the band to break down. This gave us some time to take in our surroundings. The Mann Center is a large amphitheater, with covered seating for 5,000 and lawn seating for an additional 4,000. More akin to orchestral performances, it was an interesting choice for a Passion Pit show, and it was certainly the correct one, which became obvious as the amphitheater filled to near capacity.
As the sun crept below the trees, Tokyo Police Club took the stage. After a few songs, we decided to scrap the whole show and leave. Chris didn’t feel like having to buy a new camera, and neither of us felt like sitting through the rest of the set. Tokyo Police Club is the sort of made-for-radio indie pop that gives credibility to every attack on the “hipster scene.” Their performance matched their music beautifully, repetitive and uninteresting. Sorry Canada, better luck next time. Fortunately for us (and for you lucky readers!) a security guard took pity on us, allowing me to retrieve the camera and re-enter the show. As it turned out, the Mann Center had a concierge service, who knew! So after checking the camera at the door and missing most of Tokyo Police Club’s set, we returned to our seats, happily awaiting Passion Pit.
As the rogue reviewers/photographers we were, we weren’t going to let a minor problem like not actually having tickets or a camera pass stop us from reviewing the fuck out of that show.
With the sun set, and lights dimmed, the crowd burst in to applause as Passion Pit took the stage. The five-piece opened with “Folds In Your Hands”, accompanied by a dazzling light show. Between songs, lead singer Michael Angelakos confided in the crowd his sense of shock at playing in such a large venue. “Last time we played [in Philadelphia] it was in the basement of a church.” Referring to the First Unitarian Church, it was a world away from the massive amphitheater packed full of screaming fans he was standing in front of. “Sorry, I’ll stop talking and just try to enjoy it,” he said before launching into more crowd favorites from their full length album, Manners. Dancing across stage, enveloped in smoke and flashing lights they played “The Reeling,” “Little Secrets,” “Swimming In The Flood” and “Let Your Love Grow Tall” among others. When requested to play a specific song, Angelakos responded, “we have a very limited repertoire, so chances are any song you want to hear we’re going to play.” After their set, and a short break, Passion Pit took the stage once again to play three more songs. They ended the show with “Sleepyhead,” which caused the Mann Center to erupt as every person sang and danced along.
After all of the hurtles and near misses we experienced in trying to see Passion Pit, I can only say I wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again. At this point I would normally go on some diatribe about how large venues are the devil and they would have been sooo much better back in the basement. However this is a unique case. The humility and awe coming from Passion Pit were palpable throughout their entire performance, and they played to prove they were worthy of such a large crowd's admiration.