There are some bands that you hear through your speakers that immediately make you yearn to see them perform live. You can envision yourself in the middle of a crowd all singing and dancing along to a band rocking out on stage. Unfortunately the events of the past few years slowed down the ability to see any shows, never mind these ones that you had your heart set on. Fortunately on a Saturday night in December 2022 all the stars aligned and I finally had the chance to see The Happy Fits at Webster Hall in New York.
The New Jersey based trio originally got started back in their high school days in 2012. The Happy Fits is made up of Cellist Calvin Langman and guitarist Ross Monteith and Luke Davis on drums. Together they are a ball of energy ready to explode off the stage. From any listen this is obvious.
The Happy Fits wrote their 2020 full length album What Could Be Better with this live show energy in mind. Ready for the live audience…… But then the world shut down, along with any ideas of touring. Not a group to shrivel up and die, they turned to live streaming their own “variety” show on YouTube and Twitch. The fanbase just kept following along and building along the way.
Now with their 3rd album Under the Shade of Green, the Happy Fits were ready to spread that pent up energy on stage with a 25+ show cross country tour. I was able to catch the next to last show at Webster Hall in NYC on Saturday 12/17.
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”17″ display=”basic_slideshow”]The sold out crowd was buzzing from the start. Solid opening acts Phoneboy and Daisy The Great warmed them up as the room filled to capacity. As The Happy Fits hit the stage the 16+ crowd roared with excitement. The rollicking guitar melody of “Around And Around” started it off with a bang. The crowd was moving instantly along.
After some easing in The Happy Fits ran off a string of their hits with “She Wants Me”, “Dirty Imbecile”, “Do Your Worst”, and my personal favorite of theirs “Mary.” Packing those songs in a row had the crowd at a hectic energy. Bouncing and singing along with real emotion.
The happy energy from the stage matched the crowd. There is something special about seeing a band truly enjoying themselves on stage. That mood translates easily to the audience. The Happy Fits had smiles as big as the crowd for the entire show. Sharing this with everyone is what creates truly great performances.
Adding to a list of things I have never seen at a concert before, Calvin decided to take a ride surfing on top of the crowd with his cello still strapped to his chest playing along. Smile as big as could be. The joy is infectious.
As the band walked off stage for their little break, we all had a chance to catch our breaths as well. When they returned for their encore, we all knew one song we were going to hear. The band ripped into their biggest hit “Ok, Cool, Whatever” and the crowd went wild again. There was no holding back on either side.
The Happy Fits are up theri as one of my top bands to see live right now. Get to a show as soon as you can at a venue that still lets you dance along in a mass of other fun music lovers. I would not be surprised to see this band playing much larger rooms in the not too distant future where some of that personal connection gets lost. Do not delay!
Keep up with more Happy Fits happenings and tour dates on their WEBSITE.
**** Photos by Emily McCormack of WMSC
