Their radio hits had intrigued me enough to look them up on Spotify, where I overplayed the record again and again. But was I sold? Sure, as a recorded artist.
But anyone who sounds that phenomenal on a record....usually leaves me disappointed in person. And I'm an idealistic person, so I don't appreciate the let-down. I prefer for my musical gods to stay gods. Ignorance is bliss.
Needless to say, I gambled my love for the band as I headed down to the Cannery on a buzzing night.
I apparently headed a little bit late, missing the opening JJamz, with rock stars like James Valentine and Rilo Kiley leading the line up on the group. I hear they were great, though, if that's any consolation.
Penguin Prison was the second act with a techno-meets-club sound matched with interesting albeit excellent vocals. The lead singer owned the crowd like he himself was the headliner. Nashville on a Saturday night is kind of hard to impress, as this is Music City after all, and half the crowd were musicians themselves. Nevertheless, Mr. Penguin had the whole audience bouncing and dancing to his beats. It was a rare sight, indeed, to watch everyone eat up the opener in this town like they did.
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| Penguin Prison Lead Singer with their Album |
It goes without saying that the crowd was properly amped for the main entree by the time the rock stars hit the stage. I have been to thousands of shows, especially working in the music industry and traveling to catch different concerts across the country.
And I never been this impressed.
I always have loved those final few moments before the headliner hits the stage, and the crowd’s electricity overcomes the room. The anticipation is thick, and the energy helps feed the band as they enter the stage. This was no exception. In fact, I hadn’t seen a crowd this excited in a long time. Not knowing what to expect, I could tell that there was something great about to happen musically.
Tyler Glenn, the lead singer of Neon Trees, is an undiscovered legend. He owned that stage in a way that I could only imagine up-and-coming superstars did in their infancy. It felt like an arena show but in the intimate setting of the Cannery. He interacted with the crowd, walking with his sultry strut across the stage and talking of love, fame, and sex. In his leather pants and yellow shirt, he mesmerized the nearly sold-out crowd.
Highlights for me were “Your Surrender” and hard-rocking “Sins of My Youth.” I couldn’t get over the vocals in his piano-only stripped down version of “Your Surrender.”
The crowd danced and screamed their way through the set. NT finished the set with their first smash, “Animal.” You almost couldn’t hear Tyler over the roaring crowd. When they left the stage, the audience yelled and cheered their way into an encore.
NT came out to do two more songs, ending the entire night with their newest hit, “Everybody Talks.”
It was a religious kind of music experience, where you leave changed and hopeful about where music is going. If this real and very talented band out of Provo, Utah, can make it, music still has a future.
Everybody should talk….about this band.
