Fun. Fun. Fun. The whole day, the fun puns just kept rolling in. It makes me wonder whether they purposely named the band ‘Fun.’ to confuse the shit out of people. The Enmore security were obviously having fun with it: Security to attendees – “Have Fun! *wink face*”. Jokes aside, Fun. (The Band) has surely had a great last couple of months. This indie pop trio just recently won a coveted Grammy and performed under the fake hollywood rain during the ceremony. Taking their exuberance around the world, I’m glad that they stopped by Australia.
Entering the Enmore, you could tell those who put the effort into dressing themselves tonight. They were the ones donning colourful fitted blazers, cropped pants, and buttoned shirts. The men were in their best loafers, and many sported perfectly quaffed hair, or a simple, yet dashingly neat comb-over, all in the good spirit of Fun.’s lead singer, Nate Ruess. There was a sea of young teenage girls, pairs of them surging towards the front, zig-zagging through a maze of bodies in their itty-bitty denim shorts, platformed shoes, and never ending floral prints, with RedBulls in hand (alcohol alternative for the minors). Amongst the sea of heads, I (proudly) did manage to spot some great doppelgangers. One Quentin Tarantino and one Jack Antonoff (The 4-eyed guitarist from Fun).
8pm came and went and the lights were blackened. The crowd cheered and, as usual, no one yet appeared. The crowd tried again, and from the dark corners of the stage, 3 bodies presented themselves. It was indeed…the support act. Going by the name Pluto Jonze, the three-piece Aussie band entered oh-so dramatically, gaining the crowd’s immediate attention with their weird sound effects. The sound of computers, technological FX and kid-style spaceships filled the room, as old TV sets on stage displayed black and white signal waves that danced in time with the sound effects. Their style hinted influences of The Verve and Tame Impala. It was a nice blend of indie and pop, with subtle electric nuances.
Prior to the gig, which they found out about only recently, the lead singer had a swell night planned. It included DVD’s, a couch, and a lone baking party (‘Baking’, NOT the oven kind). Pluto Jonze had a great sense of quirkiness, both in their songs, and their presence, not to mention that they are all for a good pun! Mid-set, another fun pun was used: Lead singer to audience – “You guys are here for Fun. right?! *smirk*” (I see what you did there… you have my approval. *smirk*).
From the young, to the young-at-heart, the eagerness of people built a wall of anticipation around the room. Without any warning, the stage lights dimmed and the whole of the Enmore Theatre was dark. Followed by several rounds of cheering, each member of the band stepped on stage. The cheers and applause grew louder, but of course the greatest applause went to the lead man, Nate.
The band opened with Out on the Town, a very fitting song to start the night. The stage lit up quite spectacularly, with strobe lights going a gazillion miles per second, sending rays of good fun to the crowd. The light show was just as great as the band. At this point, I no longer questioned why they named the band Fun. It was obvious, they WERE fun to watch, and they were obviously having fun performing the shit out of their songs.
Dedicated fans of course, sang along to every…single…word, even to their old tunes, no word was missed. During Why Am I the One, people had their fists balled, arms out in front and their hearts on their sleeves. It was like listening to anthem after anthem. Just before you thought it was over, We Are Young, was up next and plenty lost their shit. It still didn’t end there. You saw it coming, but it definitely took you by surprise. After moments of cheering and wooing for the inevitable encore, the band got straight into it with Some Nights.
At this point the once calm sea of people turned to a sea of hot lava. I’ve got to admit, this song in this situation got a whole lot better: some hundreds of people all chanting the same lyrics, singing in unison, people stomping their feet to the beat, the stage lights lighting up the Enmore ceiling, and the music so loud you could barely feel the pulses of your inner self. It was definitely a moment.
Setlist:
Out on the Town
One Foot
All the Pretty Girls
Why Am I the One
At Least I’m Not Sad
All Alone
It Gets Better
Barlights
Margaritaville (impromptu)
You’ll Get There
Carry On
We Are Young
You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Rolling Stones Cover)
Encore:
Some Nights
Stars
