Show review: fun. at Wicker Park Fest, 8/1

Posted by Frank

fun.'s Nate Reuss (photo: Windy City Rock)

Thanks to New York indie pop act fun., this year's installment of Chicago's Wicker Park fest - which ran this Saturday and Sunday on Milwaukee Ave. - couldn't have ended on a more upbeat note.

The band took the stage Sunday at 9 p.m., and although they were playing at the same time as hometown hard rock favorites Local H on a different stage, the area was mobbed well before they began playing. It was surprising to see how many people seemed genuinely thrilled to be seeing the band, considering they released their first album, Aim & Ignite, just last year.

When they came out and kicked into "At Least I'm Not As Sad (As I Used to Be)," people went nuts. At one point I looked at the girl standing next to me and it appeared as though she was having some sort of divine experience. It's not hard to see why people feel so intensely about this band - the songs are extremely well written, amazingly catchy and performed with tons of enthusiasm - but it was still a very out of the ordinary experience to see so many people so taken by such a young band.

fun. went on to play every song off Aim & Ignite except the LP's opener, "Be Calm." The irresistible, singalong pop gems "Walking the Dog" and "All the Pretty Girls" were highlights, as was the extremely emotive, rocking buildup of "Take Your Time (Coming Home)," which was a perfect choice to end their initial set with (they came back out to play one song, "Benson Hedges," as an encore). The band also performed a cover of Queen's "Radio Ga Ga," which was fit right in with their originals and was really well suited to frontman Nate Reuss's strong, jaunty vocals.

It was a fantastic performance on a beautiful night, and a fitting end to Wicker Park's weekend-long party. 

Setlist:
1. At Least I'm Not As Sad (As I Used to Be)
2. Walking the Dog
3. I Wanna Be the One
4. Light a Roman Candle With Me
5. All the Pretty Girls
6. Barlights
7. The Gambler
8. Radio Ga Ga (Queen cover)
9. Take Your Time (Coming Home)
ENCORE
10. Benson Hedges

More photos after the jump.

fun.'s Jack Antonoff (photo: Windy City Rock)

Photo: Windy City Rock

fun.'s Emily Moore (photo: Windy City Rock)

Photo: Windy City Rock

Photo: Windy City Rock