Jan 31

Jan 31 Show Review, Photos: Fitz and the Tantrums Deliver Good Times in Sacramento

Fitz and the Tantrums
w/ Sammy Rash
Ace of Spades
Sacramento, CA
January 24th, 2023

Photos by Jared Stossel
Review by Jared Stossel

Fitz and the Tantrums are a vibrant band. Their music is rhythmically infectious, and no matter where you are in their discography, this is a band that knows how to have a good time. Throughout the hour and fifteen-minute set I saw them perform last Tuesday at Sacramento’s Ace of Spades, the five-piece band pulled from a wide array of influences ranging from current indie pop to the soul and Motown stylings that captivated the pop culture echelon in the 60s. The show was sold out far in advance and for good reason; they’re a damn good time.

The show featured one opener, a newcomer by the name of Sammy Rash who opened the show with several acoustic-laden and piano-driven modern pop numbers. This was Rash’s seventh show ever, and I must say that he did quite well. He’s got a long way to go as a new artist, but his performance demonstrated great promise.

By the time Fitz and the Tantrums took the stage, the crowd was eager to dance and sing along. The band was aware, delivering several bouncing hits like “Sway”, “Heaven”, and “OCD” to get things moving. I’m not a dancer, but it’s impossible to not at least tap your foot during a Fitz show. Frontman Michael Fitzpatrick and co-lead vocalist Noelle Scaggs are a powerhouse duo, and they’re entertaining to watch every step of the way. Whether they’re singing together on the indie infused “Out Of My League” or giving the crowd “All The Feels”, they’re the perfect team on stage. The band is rounded out by an excellent rhythm section comprised of bassist Joseph Karnes, keyboardist Jeremy Ruzumna, and multi-instrumentalist James King, who provided some of the best moments of the evening when he took to playing one of several saxophones mounted next to his keyboard stand.

While the show was fast-moving, it never felt like any moments were rushed or phoned in. After fifteen well-constructed songs, the band returned to the stage for a one-two punch encore comprised of some of their best tracks, like the soulful “MoneyGrabber”, the electro-tinged “Ahhhh”, and the genre-bending “HandClap”, a song that just oozes with charisma and practically begs the crowd to participate. Fitz and the Tantrums are still going strong over a decade since their inception simply because they know how to make themselves stand out from the crowd. They’re not quite pop, not quite indie, and not quite soul, yet they manage to be all those things and a little more.

Fitz and the Tantrums Set List
Sway
Heaven
OCD
Good Intentions
123456
Complicated
Out of My League
Livin’ For The Weekend
Fool
MoneyMaker
6AM
Let Yourself Free
I Just Wanna Shine
All The Feels
The Walker

Encore:
MoneyGrabber
Ahhhh
HandClap