kylecrowe
fun. - Live in London
In August 2009 fun. (ex. The Format) released their debut album Aim & Ignite. In the past 8 months it has become one of my favorite albums of all time. The music is similar to that of The Format’s, but I think it is more creative, while the lyrics are incredibly inspiring. For months I was unable to see fun live because of bad timing. They played in Chicago while I was at school, or they played nearby me while I had to work. There were a handful of times I could have seen them but the music gods didn’t want it to happen.
They announced their first UK dates shortly after I arrived in Rome. Disappointed they weren’t touring all of Europe I looked at my calendar to see if there was any way I could make it to London. And for once it worked out perfectly; they would be playing in London during my spring break, which is where I was planning to spend my week off. I booked my flight to London and eagerly anticipated my first time seeing fun.
When tickets went on sale I couldn’t exactly figure out how to work the UK website but didn’t worry, because that weekend I was heading to Brussels to meet up with my friend Brendan, who was studying in London for the semester. I told him about the concert and gave him fun’s album. Upon arrival in Belgium he loved the CD too, so I gave him money to buy us tickets for when he got back to London.
A few weeks later Brendan E-mailed me with bad news, the concert had sold out and he never got tickets. I saw this coming from a mile away, but just wanted to pretend it wouldn’t happen. This was the most depressed I had been all semester. Luckily I had been having the time of my life, so I couldn’t be too upset. Still, I kept thinking about how I’m going to miss seeing fun again, I was disappointed.
When I flew into London a few weeks later the only thing I had on my agenda for the day was scalp tickets to the concert. But the venue held close to 100 people and it was a will call only event, I was highly doubtful that I would get in. Regardless, I brought the 100 euros I was willing to pay (face value was 6) to see the show. When I got to the door of The Social, there was one kid standing by the door, I asked if he had any extras, his face lit up and I’m guessing mine did the same, except 10x as much. He said he had one extra ticket, and only asked for face value. I rounded up and gave him 10 and thanked him a million times. As we walked into the tiny venue I asked him why he had an extra, he replied “I was supposed to come with a hot girl, but she bailed on me.” “I know the feeling,” I responded, I had made a new friend. It turns out Mike was from Scottsdale, Arizona, original home of The Format.
I broke one of my cardinal sins for attending concerts because I was so excited to actually have a ticket. I went into the venue at 7:00PM, fun was scheduled to come on at 10:00PM. Shit. So I grabbed a beer at the bar and waited. Shortly after, Nate Ruess and the rest of the band walked by me and sat down in the bar. I tried to hide my excitement, but quickly walked towards him and awkwardly began a conversation. I introduced myself and told him I’m a huge fan. I explained that I was from Chicago, studying abroad in Rome, but in London for spring break. They may have had something to ask me, but I was already 10 seconds into spilling my life story and continued talking. I told him how much I love their music, and how important it has been in my life. We reminisced about The Format a little, I told him my favorite time I saw them live, during the Chicago stop of the Dog Problems tour, and then he interrupted me saying “Labor day weekend, at the Vic.” For the first time in a minute I paused, not sure how to react. He must have noticed the weird look on my face, because he continued “I remember because it’s one of my favorite shows I’ve ever played.” At this point I was just dumbfounded. I told him how much I loved that concert as well. I decided I had harassed him enough, so I asked them to play “Be Calm” because from looking at websites prior to the show it was their only song they’ve been emitting from their shows. Nate told me he’ll do what he could; I thanked him and walked away.
I had some time to kill, so I watched the first two bands play. The first wasn’t terrible, they reminded me of Passion Pit, I wrote down their name so I could look into them when I have some free time. The next band I do not know their name. They were a disgrace to music. It took them 45 minutes to set up their assortment of keyboards. When they finally began making sound the 3 people played 5 different keyboards and made no actual music. Somehow the crowd seemed to enjoy it, things like this worry me about the future of music.
When they finally got off the stage I began to get anxious. I moved my way to the front row and waited. fun finally came on stage to a large applause and and opened with “Walking the Dog.” For the next hour they played almost all of Aim & Ignite, plus an old fan-favorite Format song, “Dog Problems.” From watching youtube videos I knew what to expect, but fun still blew me away live. They exert an amazing amount of energy on stage, play a variety of instruments, and Reuss’s vocals are second to none. As they exited the stage after “Take Your Time(Coming Home),” they returned for an encore. They thanked the sold out crowd for coming to their first ever European show and played “Be Calm.”
After the show I reminisced that I just saw one of my favorite album’s ever performed live in its entirety, an incredibly rare feat in the world of music. I was able to snag the setlist from the stage, and waited by the merch table until the band packed all the gear up. They came over shortly after, and I had them sign the set list and thanked them once again. It still amazes me that I’m the only person in the entire world from Chicago that saw fun’s first ever European concert.
