FUN. at Merriweather Post Pavilion – July 20, 2013

Photographs and Review by Christa Rae Settle.

Once upon a stormy night at Merriweather Post Pavilion, FUN. and very special guests Tegan and Sara gave many fans reason to come out in the rain and dance like they weren’t getting soaked in a thunderstorm. During Tegan and Sara’s last song, the sky above turned dark as lightning was striking around the area. The crowd was skeptical if it was going to actually pour, but right before FUN. took the stage, it did. That did not discourage most of the attendees on the lawn from having… fun.

Dressed in tuxedos, FUN. started their set with an “Some Nights – Intro”, then quickly ripped off their tuxedos to reveal their outfits for the remainder of the set and carried on to their next song, “One Foot”.

FUN.’s stage layout as well as the huge amphitheater stage of Merriweather allowed for the band members to run around and dance all over — which really added to the energy of their show. Lead singer Nate Ruess uses the ramps on stage to interact with the rest of his band as well as the crowd. FUN. performed many songs from their latest album, Some Nights, as well as their debut studio album, Aim and Ignite. Lyrics of every song were chanted and sung by the majority of the attendees, creating high energy throughout the entire venue.

FUN. setlist:

1. Some Nights (Intro)
2. One Foot
3. Walking the Dog
4. All Alone
5. Why Am I the One
6. At Least I’m Not as Sad (As I Used to Be)
7. All The Pretty Girls
8. It Gets Better
9. Barlights
10. Carry On
11. The Gambler
12. You Can’t Always Get What You Want (The Rolling Stones cover)
13. We Are Young
14. Take Your Time (Coming Home)

Encore: 15. Some Nights 16. Stars

Tegan and Sara opened the night with their danceable yet emotional indie rock songs. With their music being more on the slower side in comparison to FUN., the crowd enjoyed listening to their songs while  relaxing throughout the venue.

Tegan and Sara’s beautiful stage personas lit up the venue more than the lights on stage. These twin sisters trade off instruments — both playing guitar and keyboards while singing. Lots of attendees were unsure of how to tell the two twins apart. Not only are their creatively different tattoos on their arms a way to tell them apart, but Tegan has her labret pierced, whereas Sara currently has no facial piercings.Their set contained a good mix of songs from some of their earlier albums to their latest album released in 2012 titled Heartthrob.

Tegan and Sara setlist:

1. Drove Me Wild
2. Goodbye, Goodbye
3. I’m Not Your Hero
4. Back In Your Head
5. The Con
6. Good Go
7. I Couldn’t Be Your Friend
8. I Was A Fool
9. Now I’m All Messed Up
10. Living Room
11. Alligator
12. Shock to Your System
13. How Come You Don’t Want Me
14. Bones
15. Closer

Tegan and Sara thanked FUN. immensely for asking them to join them on their “Most Nights” summer tour and said “There is no one more deserving of such success than FUN.”

To this date, FUN. has won two Grammy Awards, two Teen Choice Awards, and one Billboard Music Award. Their singles “We Are Young”, “Some Nights” and “Carry On” have all reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Digital song charts like iTunes and Spotify. These singles have also claimed the number one spot on lists in the United Kingdom. FUN.’s music video for “Carry On” is currently up for a Video Music Award.