One of the very first pictures I remember taking when I moved to Knoxville was of the historic Tennessee Theatre on Gay Street.
This was 171 weeks ago according to Instagram.
In 1928, it was billed as “Knoxville’s Grand Entertainment Palace” and it definitely still lives up to that name. The state landmark is fit for a king and will be hosting acts next year from critically acclaimed guests as a part of Big Ears Festival to the Tony Award winning musical, The Book of Mormon. I’ve been fortunate to be able to go several times now and whether its to see a classic movie like The Wizard of Oz play on the big screen or enjoy the talents of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, I’ve never had a bad seat and I always feel like I’m a part of something special. This past Sunday was no different.
I’m always a bit weary attending concerts at any theatre for fear I’ll be forced to stay seated during the show. This did happen once at the Tennessee Theatre when Sheryl Crow performed and the usher eventually made my friend and I move to the side walkway so we could dance and carry on like NORMAL PEOPLE DO DURING A LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCE…SMH. However, as soon as Young the Giant took the stage everyone was on their feet and the energy was palpable.
Sameer, the lead vocalist, made a few comments about how awesome it was to be playing at such a cool place and the cynic in me thinks he probably says that at every venue the band performs at but I also like to think they are pretty cool and sincere dudes. Regardless, they played a great setlist that included a good mix of songs off their older self titled album as well as the newer Mind over Matter. Towards the end of the set, Sameer announced they are working on new music and the band teased the audience with the song Anagram. I was surprised when they never went back to actually play that song… Their last song before the encore was of course “Mind over Matter” and everyone (or maybe just me?) went crazy dancing and singing along at the top of their lungs.
When they came back out to folks chanting “One more song!,” they played 3 more with the last one being their most popular to date, “My Body”.
All in all, it was an awesome show in an amazing venue and even though it was the day after Halloween and I might have been on the struggle bus for most of the day, as soon as the first song started, I was brought back to life. I guess music can do that sort of thing… :)
Cheers,
knoxknena
