The Griswolds released its newest album High Times For Low Lives on November 11, 2016. The Low Lives Tour came to Phoenix on Valentine’s Day and shared some new and old jams with fans at Valley Bar.
The Griswolds are signed by Wind-up Records. They had not released any music before this new album since their album Be Impressive which came out in August of 2014. In 2015, The Griswolds made its debut by touring with Pop band Walk the Moon after it released its hit single “Shut Up And Dance With Me.” The Griswolds stopped in Tucson with Walk the Moon and in Phoenix for a surprise show in May of 2015.
Band members Christopher Whitehall (vocals), Daniel Duque-Perez (lead guitar), Lachlan West (drums), and Tim John (bass guitar) returned to Phoenix with a plethora of energy, embracing the intimate crowd of underground Valley Bar.
The opening band for The Griswolds were Dreamers, an Alternative Rock band from Brooklyn, New York. Dreamers is signed by Fairfax and released its album This Album Does Not Exist on August 26, 2016.
Dreamers consists of band members Nick Wold (lead vocals and guitar), Marc Nelson (bass and backing vocals), and Jacob Wick (drums and backing vocals).
The band started off its set with a happy vibe, the crowd bopping their heads along to the beat and getting off their feet. Fans would sway to the slower parts of songs and dance to the faster parts. Dreamers had a variety of intervals within each song, switching from faster beats to slower, which were matched in the energy of the crowd.
Wold and Nelson captured the crowd with their catchy tunes and chord progressions while Wick kept up the energy with the beat.
The stage setup for Dreamers was visually intriguing with its own band banner and some colorful lights to add to its stage presence.
Even with just three guys, the fans were clapping and jamming along throughout the whole set.
With very little commentary, the band’s setlist consisted mostly of songs off its newest album. Towards the end of its set, Dreamers decided to slow it down in honor of it being Valentine’s Day, dedicating the moment to those in a relationship.
The crowd exerted a lot of energy when Dreamers played “Drugs” and the band gave a speech shortly after about how music can unite people in times of division.
Dreamers then encouraged the crowd to jump and dance for “Painkiller,” and the crowd obeyed while also putting their hands together and singing along.
Dreamers ended with a bang playing “Sweet Disaster” accompanied by intense lights, crazy drums from Wick, lots of iPhones videotaping, and tons of energy from the crowd and the band that hyped up the room for The Griswolds.
Vevo | Drugs – Dreamers (Official Music Video)
By the time The Griswolds took the stage, the venue was packed from front to back on both sides of the barricade splitting the venue.
From start to finish, the fans were vibing and screaming long to the songs. The crowd was loud with lots of shouting and pulsing of their arms.
A few songs in, The Griswolds played a song off its old album called “16 Years,” the stage lighting up with pink and green lights and filling the room with immense amounts of energy. Whitehall paused during the song, handing the microphone over to the crowd as they sang the lyrics.
Its set had amazing energy from the crowd and The Griswolds seemed to crank it up a notch with every song. The multi-colored lights gave the stage an aesthetically pleasing look and fans nodded their heads and grooved along to the band’s new jams.
The band said it already liked the vibe of the crowd after the first few songs and continued to be conversational throughout the night.
The Griswolds played another oldie “Right On Track” as fans swayed their arms and shouted the words. Fans jammed along to the band’s new tracks and made sure to shout out “Be impressive!” when the band played that track.
A little trick The Griswolds like to pull on its fans is singing “Happy Birthday” to its drummer West. However, don’t fall for it. The band sings it at almost every show, including that night in Phoenix!
The band’s sly little trick cleverly lead into its new song “Birthday,” which had very intense chords and brought along great crowd vibes.
“If You Wanna Stay” brought double the energy from the fans and the band, both going crazy and loud with jumping and singing.
Whitehall continued to say how he loved smaller crowds and that Phoenix was so loud and awesome. He went into a little rant about how to not let fear take control, uniting against fear to fight hate.
Before the encore, The Griswolds played “High Times For Low Lives,” bringing out the phone flashlights and lighting up the venue.
The Griswolds had amazing instrumentals and created a crazy energy within its crowd of fans that night in Phoenix.
Thanks for taking your tour to Phoenix, The Griswolds! You can catch the band at another one of The Low Lives Tour dates listed on the band’s site here or on its Spotify.
YouTube | Out of My Head – The Griswolds (Official)
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