On the eve of Maine Day, renowned pop duo Capital Cities and opening act Scavenger Hunt performed at the Collins Center for the Arts as part of the Campus Consciousness Tour.
Capital Cities, along with their touring band, opened with a fiery performance of “Kangaroo Court,” the second single from their 2013 debut album, “In A Tidal Wave of Mystery.” Along with the rest of the set, the tune was punctuated by the trumpet-playing of Spencer Ludwig, who received a warm reception every time the spotlight was on him.
The high energy indie rock kept going from there until they closed with their biggest hit, “Safe and Sound.” They started by playing the song similarly to the studio version, then continued with a remixed version of the song, during which members of the band danced on stage, explored the crowd and even posed for a selfie with fans. The band also instructed audience members to take their shirts off and wave them in the air as their performance concluded.
Capital Cities also performed two cover songs they had previously released studio versions of: “Nothing Compares 2 U” and “Stayin’ Alive,” originally by Sinead O’Connor and The Bee Gees, respectively. During the latter song, the band also incorporated lyrics from Weezer’s “Sweater Song.”
Other songs performed include “Patience Gets Us Nowhere Fast,” “I Sold My Bed, But Not My Stereo” and “Origami.”
Opening the event was Scavenger Hunt, an electro-pop band from Los Angeles who is similar in sound to Capital Cities, and thanks to lead singer Jill Lamoureux, also sounded like Scottish indie pop group Chvrches. Their set got the crowd on its feet and warmed up for Capital Cities.
“I’m gonna get you standing up eventually. You don’t have to be scared now, but it’s gonna happen” Lamoureux said before calling the audience “small but mighty.”
Although information about ticket sales was not available at press time, the seats in the orchestra section of the 1,500-seat CCA were about half full, while no seats in the balcony were occupied. In Oct. 2011, R&B singer Janelle Monae and rock band Fun performed in the CCA, also as part of the Campus Consciousness Tour, to a similarly sized crowd.
According to its website, the Campus Consciousness Tour is “half rock tour, half environmental campaign” and “aims to inspire and activate students in an electric atmosphere while leaving a positive impact on each community the tour visits.”
Vice President of Student Entertainment Patrick Fortier-Brown was pleased with the show and said it was a positive experience for all parties involved.
“The band really enjoyed the crowd,” Fortier-Brown said. “The band seemed to have a good time playing, everybody in the crowd seemed to really like the band.”
Fortier-Brown added that as far as security and Student Entertainment’s role in the production, the show “couldn’t really have gone much better.”
Looking forward, Fortier-Brown said that Student Entertainment has a new budget and will have fewer obstacles to overcome when planning shows for the upcoming semesters.
“Limitations aren’t as high as they were this semester, so expect to have some fun [at upcoming shows],” Fortier-Brown said.