When Fitz and the Tantrums returned to The Belasco in January, they did so with fantastic flair. This pop-funk crossover act’s performance followed their fifth studio album “Let Yourself Free,” and a TikTok reemergence with songs like “The Walker” and “HandClap” each having viral moments.
This Los Angeles-born act started the night with “Sway,” their first song in nearly three years. Any crowd member who wasn’t familiar with the Fitz and the Tantrums — such as the multitude of suburban dads — would quickly learn of the band’s “Adultz-Bop” appeal.
There’s something about Noelle Scaggs, the incredible co-vocalist, that is undeniably enticing — there wasn’t a single soul in the venue who could deny that. With a tambourine in hand, Scaggs thrashed and flung her body into each musical landscape with reckless abandon. It was a feat to behold, and with a matriarchal charisma not too unlike Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine, Scaggs may have been the best thing to happen to The Belasco in a long, long time. Her rhinestoned microphone stand was but another detail too dazzling to be ignored.
“This is literally the most fun tour because we are revisiting some venues that we played at the very start of our careers,” Scaggs said. “This song is really, really important to me. This song is the one song that kicked it off for this band — our very first number one was this song.”
And with that introduction, the first chords of “Out of My League” were met with deafening screams from the crowd. If not anything else, Fitz and the Tantrums were good at one thing: playing their hit songs as if it were the first time everyone was hearing them. This hit single led to the crowd holding up hand hearts in a gesture of gratitude for a tribute to an age when the band had a greater tendency for funk.
The MVP of the night was multi-instrumentalist James King, who decorated the night with his stellar saxophone breaks. It’s hard to imagine the show without King, with his ability to bolster even the most basic of the band’s catalog into a groovy, danceable track.
Despite the band’s infinitely-energetic performance, there was a definite sense of intimacy between the performers and the crowd. Waking the crowd from a mid-set slump came “All the Feels,” the highlight of the show. Lead vocalist Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick’s voice — usually more fit for Target ads — found its earnest voice with the title track of the band’s fifth album. This song worked in multiple ways, with a seamless backing track accompanying a triumphant showing from the band. A roaring crowd washed over what was a home stretch-like performance from both of the singers.
“The Walker” marked the end of the set, with a choreographed dance that was surprisingly agile, given the band members’ ages, during a saxophone break. When the last chord rang out, the crowd would’ve been surprised to see that the set had only lasted just over an hour, which was surprising for a band with over five albums. An audible sigh of relief could be heard when the band quickly ran back on the stage for the encore.
Before becoming the lead singer of Fitz and the Tantrums, Fitzpatrick worked a variety of different jobs. Eventually, he decided to pursue music full-time and started Fitz and the Tantrums in 2008, when he was in his mid-30s. Respectable. Yet, one of the most off-putting moments of the night came in the form of a mid-set speech about the beginning stages of his career.
“My dad looked at me goes, ‘Yo, you got to get a little more realistic. You got to go and get a job.’ And I got that J. O. B.” At this point, the crowd booed in unison. “I was working and working and then one day I was like, ‘you know what? F*** that.’”
For this specific act, this was a peculiar sentiment. Who was this message catering to? With the number of dads recording on their phones, the show could’ve doubled as a baseball game. It also couldn’t have been the children of these fathers, as Fitzpatrick didn’t spare himself of profanity; it felt as if you were overhearing a youth pastor murmuring words God would frown at.
As awkward as it was, this moment quickly passed with the bombastic song “Ahhhh,” which told the same story in a much more enticing way: “Don’t think too small, don’t put me in a box / I’m a big deal, I’m a big shot.”
The encore couldn’t have ended better, with a fantastical rendition of “HandClap.” If the group had played a Taylor Swift-esque 10-minute version of this song, I’m sure the crowd would’ve rocked on.
Even with consideration to the shortcomings and on-stage outbursts of Fitz and the Tantrums, there’s something quite enticing about their enthusiastic performances. If you’re looking for a show for your tweens who have grown out of their Kidz Bop phase, this may be the perfect show to get them all danced out and in bed before curfew.