Concert Review
Fitz & the Tantrums
The Rapids Theatre
Niagara Falls, NY
Friday November 18, 2016
Review: Thom Jennings
Photos: Joseph Suto
Fitz & The Tantrums arrived in Niagara Falls on Friday to perform to a sold out crowd at The Rapids Theatre. The band dedicated the show to the late Sharon Jones, who had passed away earlier that day. Fitz & The Tantrums once opened for Jones and her band, The Dap Kings.
Over their relatively short history, the group has already racked up an impressive collection of commercial hits, and has evolved from a traditional soul sounding band to a party band that merges house and soul and plays it with incredible finesse.
The 18 song set captured a cross-section of the band’s three albums, and there was not a dud in the mix. From the time they hit the stage, the show was a sonic and visual treat with lead singers Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs putting on a clinic on how to get an audience involved in the show.
The group seems built to be a live band, and they should be on everybody’s live music bucket list. After seeing the show at the mid-sized Rapids Theatre, I have very little doubt that this will very likely be the last time the group will be performing in smaller venues. They should be headlining hockey arenas and major amphitheaters by next summer based on word of mouth alone.
Set List
Get Right Back
Spark
Don’t Gotta Work It Out
Out of My League
Run It
Break the Walls
Breakin’ the Chains of Love
Walking Target
Complicated
Fools Gold
Roll Up
Do What You Want
MoneyGrabber
Burn It Down
L.O.V.
Encore
HandClap
6AM
The Walker
