Washington, D.C-

When we heard that the Young the Giant and the Grouplove show at the 9:30 Club was sold out months ago, we knew that this band that many of us have listened to for the past year on Sirius, had hit it big and these two bands on the same bill would be a show that we needed to see for sure.

Grouplove is a great opening band. They are an upbeat, energetic indie pop band formed in 2009 and led by Hannah Hooper, who we will admit really makes this band.  Her energy on stage is transformed throughout the crowd. She was dancing and jumping the entire time. You could tell the crowd was feeding off of Hannah’s energy. 

For those who do not know the band, perhaps you have been under a rock or just maybe not really into the Indie scene, they have done a lot in the past two years, some of which has included their song, "Colours," was featured on the soundtrack for Madden NFL 12 and FIFA 12 and featured on an episode of the British soap opera Hollyoaks. Their song, "Tongue Tied", was used on the soundtrack for the Apple iPod Touch TV commercial, "Share the Fun." "Slow" was featured in Gossip Girl's 100th episode. Their song "Colours" was featured in HBO's Winter Image Spot trailer in February 2012. Their song "Cruel and Beautiful World" was featured in the last episode of Chuck and Secret Circle.

It was “Tongue Tied” that kept all of their fans, and YTG fans ready for the main act of the night, but it was hard to say that Grouplove is a runner-up, as their show is just equally amazing as what we saw the remainder of the night. Perhaps the strong following they have developed is one of the reasons why Grouplove will return to D.C on June 13^th with their own show and perhaps more of a following after tonight.

Just a few minutes after the clock struck 9:30 the madness unfolded inside of the namesake club, when Young The Giant showed us why they are kicking ass and taking lots of names on the charts this year.

YTG showed the crowd an amazing preview of what’s to come next year, and man is it sure to blow the speakers of many Ipod docking stations. Young The Giant’s stage presence is just as would be expected: loud and remarkable. At various points during the set their drumming and music flow even included a quartet orchestra joining them on stage.

Young the Giant proved themselves to be just like a well seasoned band that has been touring for 20 years, they hit on every song they played. Considering their only full-length came out almost two years ago, you would think it was 10 years ago with the way they played this show.  Tracks like “12 Fingers” and “Cough Syrup” sounded like studio quality and give it up for the 9:30 club for always providing some of the best sound quality anywhere in the nation.

The band went on to do a cover of Gorillaz’s Empire Ants. If I were to have to describe it would just be more synonyms for “amazing.” The show’s encore went on to end in a crowd pumping performance of My Body. In true fashion, the band’s frontman, Sameer, was crowd surfing for a bit of the performance.

So, if you can get your tickets for any of their remaining shows on this tour, we highly recommend it, if not Stubhub tickets are a worthy investment. You will be glad you did.

Young the Giant Setlist:
I Got
Guns Out
Shake My Hand
What You Get
12 Fingers
Cough Syrup
Empire Ants (Gorillaz Cover)
I Wanna
Strings
Camera
St. Walker
God Made Man
Encore:
Apartment
Islands
My Body