Passion Pit @ House of Blues

Passion Pit
featuring Slenderbodies

January 12, 2018 @ House of Blues

By: Jason Crouse

Finding out that you were approved for press for one of your favorite artists on the day of the show is absolutely the best feeling during a slow day at co-op. I don’t really remember what happened at work after that point because I was riding that high, and wow oh wow I had a loooooot to look forward to. My experience was interesting from the moment I showed up at the House of Blues when the box office handed me a ticket with my photo pass. I was expecting to have only a photo pass and had already paid for a ticket, so I scrambled at the absolute last minute to sell it on every Facebook page I could think of. Nobody bought it (though one person led me on for an HOUR) and in the end I sent a screenshot of the ticket to a pal and said, “If you want a free ticket to Passion Pit, come here right now.” He came!

Overall, I wasn’t impressed with the opener, Slenderbodies. The only thing that truly stood out from their performance was a rendition of ‘Electric Feel’ by MGMT that was extremely unexpected but honestly went really hard. I don’t mean to imply that the rest of the performance was bad, but I just wasn’t a big fan of it. They definitely had a certain audience that would enjoy their music more, but it was hard for me to get into and I just sort of swayed and played around with my camera. Their stage presence was fun to observe from the photo pit, though, and I thoroughly enjoyed shooting them despite the typical poor lighting that HoB has for openers.

Nobody at the House of Blues seemed to know when Passion Pit was supposed to come on, but after being faked out multiple times Michael Angelakos eventually bounced out on stage and we couldn’t contain our excitement. I hadn’t seen Passion Pit since 2015, and even then I was on the lawn at a huge amphitheater, which wasn’t a great experience, so I was overjoyed. The first three songs of the set flew by way too quickly but I managed to take quite possibly my favorite photos of my photo career! Shooting Passion PIt was such a joy because of Angelakos’ high energy and enthusiasm, and I ended up with an elusive ~jump shot~ to stick in my portfolio.

After shooting, I got to chill out in my favorite balcony spot for photographers and danced and sang and had a blast. Passion Pit has been in the back of my mind for the last couple of years, and until this show I really forgot how much I love them. I danced and sang to ‘Sleepyhead’ while I was shooting, and ‘Take A Walk’ was the closer of the encore and by far the highlight of the show. The band brought back tunes from their earliest EPs and managed to cover their bases and play songs off every album, and there was really something for anyone who knew even a modicum of their music. If anyone in that totally packed and sold out room didn’t already love Passion Pit before the show, they 100% loved them afterwards.

The moral of this review is as follows: if you are ever given an opportunity to see Passion Pit, do it. There’s a reason they have attained an immense following over the years, and their talent and dedication comes through clearly in their live performances. I will definitely be at their next tour, and the next one, and even the next one.

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