Walk the Moon plays to audience at Pitt
Walk The Moon once again graced Pittsburgh with their presence on Sunday Oct. 4 at the University of Pittsburgh’s Fall Fest. After a week of bad weather, it seemed as if the skies cleared just in time for this outdoor performance. Surprisingly, the turnout was nowhere near as large as expected for a university the size of Pitt.
There were two openers before Walk the Moon took the stage: The first was a band comprised of Pitt students, and the second was Coin, a nascent band based out of Nashville who performed songs from their self-titled debut album. However, before Coin was able to take the stage, there appeared to be several technical difficulties that left the crowd waiting in anticipation for quite a few hours. As two Carnegie Mellon students in a sea full of Pitt students, we had half a mind to call AB Tech to resolve the problem. Eventually, all issues were fixed and Coin’s performance went off without any more hitches.
Luckily, the waiting time between Coin and Walk the Moon was far shorter. The sun had been hidden behind buildings for hours; it finally emerged as Walk the Moon came to stage with “Circle of Life” playing in the background. It felt like a scene out of a movie, and it was the first of many times throughout the performance that we had to resist the urge to start crying. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be as large a number of Walk the Moon fans as there were general concertgoers, which seemed to lower the overall crowd enthusiasm. We missed the general excitement that the intimate feel of Carnegie Mellon’s fall concert tends to induce. But nevertheless, we were excited, and that was all that really mattered.
The band opened with “Jenny,” a debut album favorite about a summer fling. Opening with this song showed their dedication to pleasing the fans that have been there since the beginning of their music career. Following this, they launched into songs from their second album Talking Is Hard. The crowd seemed to be a little more into songs from the new album, as this is the album that really put Walk the Moon on mainstream radio. The energy picked up and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.
One thing about Walk the Moon that is always enjoyable, whether you’ve been a fan since the band’s beginning or only really know the tune to a song or two, is their overall sense of positivity. This is reflected in their song “Different Colors” which the lead singer, Nick Petricca, prefaced with a message about how important diversity and equality are. The lyrics “different colors/we carry each other” show how much they value the acceptance of differences between people.
After this song, they took listeners back to the band’s start with “Tightrope,” another favorite from their debut album. The set list seemed very well planned. They went back and forth between old and new songs to keep the crowd of varied fans interested, no matter which point they began listening to Walk The Moon. Beginning with “Tightrope,” the band transitioned into the high intensity, fast paced, self-empowerment song lineup from their new album, such as “Up 2 U” and “Work This Body.” The crowd loved it. Nick’s high energy and over-the-top dancing also satisfied the audience.
A slight technical bump occurred as Nick began to set up his keyboard. As self-proclaimed Walk the Moon experts, we knew the keyboard meant one thing — it was time for the love songs. The band shifted gears and transitioned into songs “Portugal” and “Aquaman,” which never fail to take any Walk the Moon fan on a trip through all of their emotions. This was the second time we had the urge to cry, only this time there was no stopping the tears. The whole crowd was swaying in unison, and we were pretty sure that everyone was on a feels trip.
After drying our tears, we waited in anticipation for what direction the concert would go in next. In true Walk the Moon fashion, the audience members were initiated into proper Walk the Moon fans via the song “I Can Lift a Car.” At each concert that the band puts on, they open this song with a speech about letting go of all of your worries and nervousness about the past and future and just enjoying where you are right now. Nick begins to push his arms up to the sky to symbolize the letting go of his troubles, and he invites the entire crowd to do the same. During the chorus of the song, the band and the entirety of the crowd pump their arms up and down in perfect unison. The collective feel of happiness and positive energy was thrilling for old and new fans alike.
The band closed with the very popular and arguably the crowd’s favorite “Shut Up and Dance.” The band sang the chorus of the song in a repeat-after-me fashion, and the crowd ate it up. The crowd half sang and half screamed the lyrics “shut up and dance with me” in sync with the band, and the energy of the audience was at an all-time high.
As the band exited the stage, the post-concert depression started to kick in. But the familiar screams of “Encore! Encore!” reminded us that there was definitely something else in store. The band rushed back on stage and the excitement level immediately skyrocketed back up. The band played “Anna Sun,” one of the band’s first songs to get popular, as the encore. The song wound down and brought the concert to its close. The band thanked the audience for their love and support, said one final “We love you, Pittsburgh,” and we once again felt the need to cry.
Whether you watched the concert as a returning fan or had never heard a Walk The Moon song before this occasion, we believe the band succeeded in entertaining the crowd. Despite the late arrival from the airport and several technical difficulties that had to be overcome, Walk the Moon still gave this concert their all. Needless to say, Walk The Moon is always welcome here in Pittsburgh.