According to fun., the Grammy-winning indie band from New York, Sunday night at Ottawa’s Bluesfest was their biggest show – ever.  I knew of fun. and really like their songs, but this performance completely exceeded expectations.  There were obviously many devoted fans in the audience, but after Sunday night, fun. can now add many others, including me, to their growing fan base.

Lead singer Nate Ruess was captivating and owned the stage.  His fresh and raw vocals reminded me of Freddie Mercury more than once, and that’s a huge compliment.  In the end, however, this show became more than the music.  There came this moment, which lasted between two and twenty minutes, it’s hard to say, when after their performance of huge hit and fan favourite “Carry On”, the crowd’s applause and cheers did not diminish, and instead grew.  Nate Ruess stood centre stage looking completely overwhelmed as the crowd continued their ovation.  It was an awesome moment, especially as we watched Nate’s face projected on the three large screens go through several emotions, grinning widely and biting back emotion, speechless.  Bandmates Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff were zoomed in on as well, both of them smiling like kids, humble and savouring the moment.

The night began with fun. opening with a version of “Some Nights”, wearing matching suits and bowties, and followed with “One Foot” and their single costume change of the night.  “All Alone” for some reason brought to mind the Rocky Horror Picture Show – great instrumentals including the sax and xylophone and a real theatrical performance from Nate.  After “Why Am I The One”, a rock ballad that had me picturing the band in Motley Crüe hair and spandex, Nate took a moment to address the crowd, grinning as we applauded, and saying this is the biggest crowd they’ve ever performed for.

The build-up to “the moment” came when, after a bass heavy “Bar Lights” finished, the crowd was blasted with confetti and the opening chords to “Carry On” brought cheers, cellphones, and lighters.  This was probably the best performance of the night, and I can still envision the trio standing motionless on stage to the never-ending applause at the end of the song.  After Nate pulled himself together he addressed the crowd, saying “Truly thank you – that’s about the coolest thing that’s happened this year … we’re lucky people, thank you”.

Finally, “We Are Young” was played, and the girls in the front row were completely enraptured as they sang along.  I was making some notes at this point, and suddenly there were some shouts and people running towards the fence near me (it divided the clubhouse area where I was, from general admission with a small walkway).  I ran over, my first thought was there was a fight (why would I be running towards a fight??), when there was Nate, standing on the fence not three feet from me!  He came out of nowhere, and there he was, close enough to touch – I admit I felt giddy and the girls beside me were absolutely beside themselves.

After an encore of Some Nights and Take Your Time, the New York band stood together and applauded the crowd and after a final shout out (“I f@#*ing LOVE Canada!!!!” ) left the stage, still looking somewhat dazed.

I’ve seen many great concerts, but this is the first time I’ve seen this kind of raw emotion happen during a show, and it turned Nate, Andrew and Jack into just a couple of regular guys living their dream.  This being only the second stop of an international tour, I can only imagine what’s ahead for these guys.

Kelly McTavish/ Front Page News