Walk the Moon is one of the new and emerging bands in the Indie pop world. They released their last single this summer which was on the Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs for 24 weeks at number one and on The Hot 100 at number one for the same amount of time. This song not only broke many records but it was donned the “Song of the Summer” for 2015. It was a little tune you may have heard of, called: Shut Up and Dance. They have gotten off to a great start over the past year touring over almost all of the U.S. and Europe.

I have seen Walk the Moon twice this year alone. The first time I saw them was in April at The Cannery Ballroom with The Griswolds for the Spring leg of the TALKING IS HARD tour. Both of these bands were phenomenal and put on a great performance. I was lucky enough for this show to be on the barricade, which is right beside the stage. Their setlist included a good balance of songs between their debut album WALK THE MOON and their most recent album TALKING IS HARD. My favorite moment during this concert is the initiation into the “tribe” during I Can Lift A Car for the people that are attending their first show. The basis of the song is about having energy and just a general good feeling about life. So before they start the song, Nick gives this speech about taking all the negative energy and negative things that you are dealing with in your life and gathering them until you can throw it up and get rid of it. They want you to just forget about the bad feelings and bad times and think about the energy that is flowing through the audience at the time.

The second time I saw them was in October at The Ryman Auditorium with HOLYCHILD for the fall leg of the TALKING IS HARD tour. I wasn’t the biggest fan of HOLYCHILD, it was a very different performance in that she would stop and talk to fans in the middle of songs and run around the whole theater while screaming the song out.  The setlist this time was strictly TALKING IS HARD songs with a slight mix of some popular first album songs. My favorite song during this concert was either Portugal or Aquaman. Portugal is a song of theirs that just resonates with me, I can relate to the lyrics more in this song than their others. During Aquaman they have a huge bubble party/fight where everyone in the audience brings their own bubbles and you blow them during the song and then at the chorus, you sway and move with your hands up to imitate a sea anemone and it gives off this very chilled aura and a fun environment.  

Every time I see these guys in concert I am always blown away, they never give the same show twice. As Eli Maiman, the guitarist, says, “Our show is never the same because our show is human and we are all humans, we mess it up.” Both shows had a great atmosphere about it, they are very energetic onstage and as the crowd gets more energetic, they feed off of it. When you go to one of their shows it’s like going to a giant party with all of your best friends to listen to one of your favorite bands. I always find people to talk to and become friends with at their shows. They have helped me develop one of my best friendships. They have very high energy and no matter where you look on stage, someone is always dancing or engaging the crowd. At the end of both shows, the lead singer, Nick Petricca, gave this sort of speech about taking the energy you had during the night and the good feeling that was emitted into your everyday life at school or work. They want their music to get you out of the dumps on a bad day or make you feel like you can lift a car.