Hundreds of fans quite literally descended on Phoenix’s iconic Celebrity Theatre for a very special show in the round last weekend. After postponing their early spring date, The Driver Era made good on their promise to return to Arizona, bringing along Almost Monday to complete the lineup.
Southern California sunshine pop band Almost Monday brought out their best sparkling guitar tones and groovy basslines for a set that had the room showing off their moves. The quartet evokes the raw spirit of California, with that energy in every facet of songs like “Coast to Coast” and “Sun Keeps on Shining”. They even added a hip-shaking cover of The Romantics’ classic “What I Like About You” before closing things out with “Cough Drops”.
The Driver Era ran to the stage like prizefighters, grasping the outstretched hands of the fans along the ramp’s barricade. Celebrity Theatre’s spinning stage is one of the most unique places to play in the Valley and fans were awestruck when the entire operation started slowly rotating- after TDE got everyone warmed up on “Feel You Now” and “Afterglow”.
The middle of the set had singer Ross Lynch fulfilling many fans’ “Fantasy” when both jacket and undershirt came off so he could swivel his hips and get the room screaming for more- which the whole band was happy to provide. A piano materialized onstage and the brothers Lynch (Ross and Rocky) treated the audience to a snippet of their upcoming single, “Rumors”, along with a soft version of R5’s “Lay Your Head Down”.
The end of the main set took us all on a drive through “Malibu” before the group pulled out another R5 classic- this time it was “All Night”. After a rousing rendition of “Preacher Man”, the band headed out- only to return moments later for a three song encore that included “Heart of Mine” and a rare performance of Kings of Leon’s “Sex on Fire”.
The fans, for their part, spent the night tossing various feathered, bedazzled and fringed cowboy hats onstage for the boys to wear and shrieked their approval of the show as a whole. Even security could be seen grooving along to the band’s infectious energy. Combined with the uniqueness of the venue, The Driver Era gave Phoenix a night to remember.
Check out all the photos from the show!
Story and photos by Olivia Khiel
