words and pix: Abby McNatt
“Hey there, Delilah, what’s it like in New York City..”
We are all quite familiar with such a classic pop tune. Plain White T’s are certainly a classic act among people of millennial age, being that they were largely popular when fans were still in school, back in the day. But, people of all ages know their classics such as “Our Time Now”. “Rhythm of Love”, “1, 2, 3, 4”, and… of course… “Hey There Delilah”. I myself have been a fan of mostly those few for a few years now, and when I saw they were playing just minutes from my house, I knew I had to get in.
On Friday June 22nd, the Plain White T’s played in a Hard Rock-esque venue located in Warrendale, called Jergel’s. It’s a great venue and also has a pretty decent menu if you’re in the market for that to go along with some live music.
At the Pittsburgh stop of their tour, they had Pittsburgh locals, Hear Tonight to open the show. I am good friends with them and was really excited to have them open for such a classic act. Their music is great. If you enjoy summery pop music, that makes you want to roll the windows down and sing along to the lyrics and just feel happy, they are your kind of band. They chose some of their most upbeat songs to include in the set list that night, and really got the crowd pumped up for the night to come.
Next on stage, they brought along Chicago natives, Fairview. They were discovered, and soon signed by, Plain White T’s member, Tom Higgenson, giving them their kickstart into the music business. They were very talented. Each member played with love and passion, which was great. They had a lot of slower ballads and love songs, and clearly some good writing went into them. The two leads, Lizzy and Matt, had beautiful voices and their chemistry put that much more meaning into their lyrics.
Next up, we had Ocean Park Standoff from Santa Monica, California. They were everything you could ask for when it came to pumping up the crowd for the headliner. More and more people began to dance and come up to the stage and enjoy the music. Ethan Thompson, the lead, was awesome. I found myself captivated by his contagious energy. He really put his all into it and it was amazing to watch. I also didn’t realize till later, that they are the creators of the radio hit, “Good News”, which you may also be familiar with. They were great… a great addition to the tour.
Last, but not least, we had the Plain White T’s. I’d never seen them play before, so this was a first for me. And they were amazing. They played a little bit of everything, including an 80’s cover for the parents in the building. The crowd sang along to every word and it was a beautiful sight to see. They began their set with a few of the new songs, being released on their album “Parallel Universe” in August. A tour is a great way to get some extra suspense and excitement from fans for an upcoming album, and that is just what it did. They included all of the PWT’s classics, “Rhythm of Love”, “1, 2, 3, 4”, “Hey There Delilah”, and “Our Time Now”. Up to the very end the crowd was dancing and singing along to each word.
Their album, “Parallel Universe” is coming out August 24th, and they also mentioned that they’d be back on tour after that, so keep a look out for the album and another Pittsburgh tour date.
© 2018 Abby McNatt