Jack Antonoff performs onstage with Bleachers during a concert at the Kia Forum on June 29, 2022, in Los Angeles. Credit: Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times via TNS
On Tuesday evening, indie-pop band Bleachers brought poppy guitar riffs, suave saxophone solos and uncontainable energy to a sold-out crowd at KEMBA Live!.
The band’s “From the Studio to the Stage” tour has taken its members on a victory lap, celebrating the release of their self-titled album that was recently released in March. The record marks the band’s fourth studio album and its first release under the label Dirty Hit.
Despite being a fan of the band’s labelmates The 1975 and The Japanese House for some time now, my knowledge of Bleachers was trivial prior to Tuesday’s performance. One fact I did know, however, is that lead singer Jack Antonoff is one of modern music’s most prominent faces.
Antonoff’s career has spanned over numerous decades, first gaining traction via bands Steel Train and fun, and later expanding when he became a go-to producer for large-scale artists like Taylor Swift, Lana Del Ray and Lorde.
Bleachers began as Antonoff’s passion project in 2014, and since then there’s been no sign of stopping the band’s momentum. The band’s sound combines modern-day indie pop-rock with the synth-fueled sounds of the 1980s, as well as Antonoff’s chief inspiration Bruce Springsteen.
Coming into the show, I had listened to a variety of Bleachers’ music and felt prepared to expect its signature sound, but I did not know exactly what a live show would look like.
While concertgoers waited for Bleachers to take the stage, singer-songwriter Samia entertained the crowd with a medley of relaxing alternative songs including “Honey” and “Kill Her Freak Out,” both off her 2023 album, titled “Honey.”
By 8:55 p.m., after some time had passed since Samia left the stage, smoke started to seep through the band’s instruments, creeping its way toward the audience.
At 9 p.m., Bleachers’ members took the stage and instantly brought the energy from their home state of New Jersey to Columbus.
Their 24-song setlist featured hits from all four of the band’s albums and was crafted with the intention of bringing the audience on a rollercoaster ride of emotions throughout the entire night.
The second song of the night, “Modern Girl” — one of the singles from the band’s most recent album — was an obvious crowd favorite. The “We Didn’t Start the Fire”-esque verses crash into a catchy chorus that had the audience instantly waving its hands and jumping up and down.
The next few songs, “Jesus is Dead” and “How Dare You Want More,” kept the energy pumped, but arguably the most emotional moment of the night arrived when the song “Everybody Lost Somebody” began. The song speaks on Antonoff’s experiences with grief, mainly with regard to the death of his younger sister.
At one point in the song, the instruments cut out as Antonoff subtly sang pieces of the song to the crowd before bringing the energy back with a saxophone solo, courtesy of the band’s saxophone player Evan Smith. The audience was visibly emotional as he sang, “I know that I’m lost. Lost in a world without you.”
The band’s interaction with the crowd — something lacking in most concerts — was one of the show’s most impressive aspects.
Antonoff and company made it their mission to entertain the audience with more than just the casual “How’s everyone feeling?”Antonoff guided himself to different sides of the stage and encouraged the audience to jump, shout and even crowdsurf. At certain points, he would issue a call and response, and at other times he would simply allow audience members to sing the songs themselves.
The peak of the crowd’s energy came before the band performed its final lineup of hits. Antonoff noticed someone in the crowd yelling, “We just got engaged,” which led him to encourage everyone to get on someone’s shoulders to sing the next song.
The best point of the night came when Antonoff discussed the band’s history with Columbus, explaining that its sound engineer Matthew Price was from the city and asserting the band will always stop in Columbus while on tour.
The show ended with some of the band’s biggest songs such as “Rollercoaster” and “I Wanna Get Better,” but the standout was “Don’t Take the Money,” which had the entire venue jumping in unison.
Overall, my time with Bleachers was quite rewarding. I ended up very surprised by the amount of musical talent in the performance, and can now say the band certainly brought its tunes “From the Studio to the Stage.”
Rating: 5/5
