Grabbitz the musician is taking a bit of a back seat so Grabbitz the DJ can be out in full force. Currently out on his Dance Sing Fly Tour, the artist is bouncing between small clubs and huge festivals like Lollapalooza and Lost Lands, bringing together the dance music community and the alt rock fans who don’t often overlap.
At the Phoenix show, the crowd got a taste of the local music scene courtesy of This Modern. The group set the tone with the first notes of “Symphonies,” welcoming them to the Valley Bar stage, and launched into crowd favorites like “Remember December” and “Everyone’s Miserable.” In between songs, frontman Marcus Reardon encouraged attendees to follow their social media accounts: “This M-D-R-N, which you’ll probably hear me say a million more times.” Closing with new single “Happy Belated,” This Modern won over the crowd and found some new fans.
My set for this tour is essentially my ode to dance music.
— grabbitz (@grabbitz) September 6, 2022
It has shaped my sound and identity.
One day, my show will be much more than turntables and a microphone…
… but the Dance Sing Fly Tour is about the raw and intimate DJ experience.
I hope to see you there 🦋
The stage was then stripped bare, save for some turntables and a microphone. True to his word, Grabbitz made his show a DJ set — a bit of his own catalog, some of his friends’ songs, and his favorite tracks that have influenced his journey in dance music. No spoilers, but if you thought you’d never hear “Sandstorm” in 2022, think again.
Fans were all too happy to headbang to the dubstep drops, but the real moments of connection happened when Grabbitz stepped out from behind his table to bring his music to life. “Pigs in the Sky,” “87 Seconds,” and “Pain Killer” were particularly engaging, and the crowd moved as one to the beats. But rather than ending with “Somebody Else,” Grabbitz dropped unreleased music with Illenium to close out his set — one last gift to make the rare scaled-down DJ experience all the more special.
Check out all the photos from the show!
Story and photos by Taylor Knauf
