FUN. Gig Review - Birmingham LG Arena
Posted by Guest Writer on Fri, 26 Nov 2010.
Fun are one of those bands that lives up to their name. With their love of bright colours and equally bright and happy indie-pop tracks, going to see them live gives you an instant smile, even if, like me, you aren’t that big a fan of pop in general. However, I do like talented and cool bands, and Fun definitely fits that description. Supporting Paramore on their UK 2010 tour, I went along to see what the band that blends influences from Broadway to the Beach Boys into their music, were all about.
As I was walking up the stairs into the LG Arena where they were playing their first song, I was prepared to sit down and nod along to the average music that sometimes other less-experienced and talented support bands subject you to, but this wasn’t the case with Fun. Hearing their sound which uncannily resembles 70’s pop, I found their catchy single “At least I’m not as Sad (As I Used to Be)” to be more than a bit infectious, and discovered that I was indeed dancing along to their easy-to-listen-to melodic twists and turns. This proved to me that Fun weren’t going to be one of those mediocre support bands, and instead sounded like a genetically engineered hybrid of Mika and Queen, in the best possible way.
Aiming to bring all their previous experiences and musical influences into every song, Fun pride themselves on crafting the perfect pop song, with lyrics soaked in meaning and practically orchestral melodies featuring in unison. Their talent for this was obvious as they continued playing with “All The Pretty Girls”, I soon realised this is a band that not only knows good stage presence and how to get a crowd going, but cares about the production of their songs and enjoys it.
Ending their set on a high, Fun eventually used their multi-instrumental talent to do a crowd-pleasing cover of “Radio Gaga” by Queen, and I can’t think of a more appropriate song for them to finish on- they did the 1984 classic justice with their lively performance, with lots of skipping excitedly about the stage, especially by lead singer Nate, and the skill and enthusiasm of their musical ability. It may sound cheesy, but the band really was fun by name, fun by nature