Fans looking for nothing but a good time flocked to Arizona Financial Theatre on Wednesday for O.A.R.’s headlining summer tour. With support from Fitz and the Tantrums, it was a shindig suitable for all ages and plenty of parents took the kids for a night out on the town.
Fitz and the Tantrums has been churning out danceable classics for nearly 17 years and the party certainly didn’t start till they walked in. Their set was tightly crafted, down to the banter between songs and each segue was perfectly timed. The audience was ready to dance, clapping along to “Out of My League” and “MoneyMaker” and singing loudly to a well-chosen cover of Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”. The band engaged with the front row throughout the set, drawing huge smiles from everyone who’d shown up early to catch their performance. Before the headliner’s turn onstage, they got everyone up once more to close things out with some mandatory audience participation on “HandClap”.
Maryland-born O.A.R. has been performing together since their middle school days and their garage band has now taken them around the world countless times over the years. With this summer tour, the group is celebrating almost 30 years together and they packed the setlist with new material and plenty of familiar songs for the diehard fans.
Their set kicked off with “What in the World” but there was no confusion about how much fun the crowd was having and by the time “The Stranger” came around, it was a full blown mass of movement in the audience. Touring trumpet player Jon Lampley stole the spotlight on that particular song, blasting away on a scorching solo that had the room on their feet and cheering. There was much more to come, however, and the band made the very most of their headlining set.
Singer Marc Roberge spoke briefly between songs, joking that he’s easily distracted when the audience started shouting requests and affirmations in the middle of the set. He also humbly thanked his bandmates and the fans for showing up for so long which was the perfect transition into “Shattered (Turn the Car Around)”, a massive radio hit throughout the years.
O.A.R.’s music has always been laid back, but their undercurrent of pure rock and roll takes center stage in their live shows. The band members truly know and understand one another and that genuine camaraderie makes their set one of the most consistent- and dare we say underrated- in the genre. They had some fun throwing in a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” before ending the night with “That Was a Crazy Game of Poker” and an uplifting take on Tears For Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”.
Watching O.A.R. continuing to bring joy to so many listeners after so many years is the best part of watching the band do what they love. This summer tour has plenty of highlights and is the perfect night out for fans across generations- it’s not one anyone will want to miss.
