California indie rock band plays outdoor show Wednesday
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Beach balls bounced above the outdoor crowd, with the smell of incense flowing through the spring night air and violet, blue and lime green lights flashing to the beat of the evening. Young the Giant’s main man, Sameer Gadhia, took a breath and coolly raised a peace sign high on one hand.
The Southern California rockers, famous for their two years at South by Southwest, brought the Austin flavor to the Greene Street intramural field Wednesday night in their Carolina Productions performance.
Students scattered the lawn, barefoot, soaking in the last hour of light in sundresses, tanks and Ray Bans, while a stage manager carefully snaked his way across the grand setup’s top row of lights. The crowd erupted in a collective cheer of relief as the stage was set and blankets stretched out with groups sitting back for a more festival-like experience.
Cockapella, USC’s coed acapella group, sang to concertgoers lining the field’s fence to Thirsty Fellow and students struggled with the decision to sit or stand as the night’s opening act, Columbia’s Death of Paris, took the stage.
Lead vocalist Jayna Doyle and guitarist Blake Arambula graduated from USC last year and ditched the “real job” hunt to write music for their up-and-coming hard pop/rock band.
“I went to USC so I know how y’all can party,” Doyle said, as she finished off an impressive vocal run and completely acapella opening. “I’m sure a few of you finished off a Four Loko before you came out here.”
Death of Paris held the crowd, anxious for a dose of the California headliners, with “East or West” and “Models and Bottles” before a Bryan Lee Bass dubstep drum solo.
A sea of Woodlands, Stadium Suites and Retreat sunglasses and t-shirts — fresh from the off-campus housing fair — all collected back at center stage, with a few outliers cherishing the open, outside venue.
Among a few die-hard Young the Giant fans there was widespread love of “Cough Syrup,” the group’s chart-topping single.
The indie-chill rockers ran on stage, tambourine and guitars in hand, sporting basic tees and their defining facial hair.
Gadhia belted out a viral “U-S-C” which echoed through the excited crowd before the vocalist, known for his infectious falsetto, fell to the stage floor in genuine enthusiasm.
And in just one moment, the field dropped to the night’s light for an ominous and chilling Bon Iver-esque cool. An upbeat jinglejangle and quick launch into “I Got” had an oddly tropical indie flair with the giants chiming in for Beach Boys-like melodies and a little bit of grit.
There was a quick pause with the deuces held high and just one nugget of wisdom. “We have a USC too, but yours is way f*****g better,” Gadhia said.
An echo spread the booming bass, heavy with guitar riffs and a steady drum, and smoke poured across an all-standing audience. The guys ran through an oldie, “Shake My Hand” and a new track, “What You Get,” pausing only to get a shout-out from those who “showed up stoned.”
There were a few barnyard sounds from Gadhia — a crow, meow, caw — (it was his expected quirk that made the stage time) leading into a steady clap and field-wide singing in the chorus of the beloved fan-favorite “Cough Syrup.”
They followed up with another song, “I Want It,” off the sophomore release — due out next spring, according to Gadhia — and then circled back to a Young the Giant classic, “Strings.”
“It’s really about a day like today, the longest day we’ve seen in a while,” Gadhia said.
The tambourine-toting, endearingly potty-mouthed frontman kept his eyes shut through the hourlong set, feeling every note he belted, “ooh”-ing and “ahhh”-ing to a glowing crowd — now taking individual intermissions to lay back and stare at the cloudy sky.
And after a quick sip of orange juice and a from-stage shot of the crowd, hands high in the air, Young the Giant moved into their parting song, “My Body.”
A quick flash of the strobe, a few more in-sync sways and nodding-heads and it was official, Young the Giant had brought the California cool all the way to Columbia.