Swooping into Charlottesville as the spirit of indie synth-pop, Passion Pit possessed its lucky attendees at the Jefferson Theater where it performed this past Friday. With only one album and one EP to its name, Passion Pit has managed to garner a sizable fan base thanks to a style of sublime music that delves into the psyche, summoning feelings of warmth and excitement. The concert sold out weeks in advance, and demand for tickets reached more than double their face value through social media and other outlets. Without a doubt, those who saw Passion Pit this week got exponentially more than they paid for.
At first, I harbored serious doubts about Passion Pit's ability to perform as a live band. Given the band's highly electronic music, I was skeptical about its ability to collect a strong presence from the crowd. Passion Pit's sound is too mellow for a rave crowd, yet too upbeat for the somewhat sedated audiences of instrumental musings. My fears proved unfounded, however. With no costumes, special lighting or other gimmicks, the band gave the impression that, above all, it is about the music. Each song it played virtually mimicked the studio-quality sound of Manners, its debut album, as well as Chunk of Change, its EP.
Despite the calm nature of its music, Passion Pit made the crowd nearly explode with energy as it opened its set with the toe-tapping, anthemic hit "Moth's Wing." From that moment on, Passion Pit made it clear that, regardless of whatever problems plague your life, you were going to dance along, sing along if you knew the words, and above all, be happy. Passion Pit's ability to cultivate that feel-good emotion that warms hearts is undoubtedly its greatest asset. Lead singer Michael Angelakos serenaded the crowd center stage amidst a sea of synth, belting his soul as if the lyrics were coming straight from his heart at that moment. Any fan of Passion Pit surely felt a connection with the music - an idea reinforced by the surge of people jumping up and down belting the band's final song, "Sleepyhead," the first single off Manners. After the surge of ecstatic cheers, Passion Pit came back on for an encore, starting off with "Little Secrets," a song fans at the concert clearly were itching to hear.
With the pleasant surprise of snow pattering the heads of concert-goers as they left the Jefferson, Passion Pit proved to be a a shining example for any band, regardless of genre, that comes to Charlottesville. A transcendent success at the crossroads of indie-pop and electronic music, Passion Pit secured its place as one of the finest acts to grace Charlottesville this year. Passion Pit is due for another album early in 2012, but until then, kick back with its limited oeuvre and watch the play count slowly rise. You'll be smiling the whole time through.
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