Flowers bloomed inside Arizona Financial Theatre when Young the Giant’s Victory Garden Tour visited Phoenix on Tuesday. The California band is celebrating their latest album, turning each venue into a colorful paradise alongside Cold War Kids and Beach Weather.
The tour had a sprinkle of local love with Beach Weather opening the show. The Phoenix favorites had family and friends in the house for their high energy set, kicking off the night with “Chit Chat” and “High in Low Places”. Singer Nick Santino made use of fun vocal effects and danced across the stage during “Seth Cohen” and “Swoon”. Every song had the room dancing, getting warmed up for the rest of the night.
Cold War Kids kept that spirit for their direct support slot, encouraging the audience to keep moving during “So Tied Up” and “Run Away With Me”. Plenty of fans in the room were spotted in their band shirts and the excitement for their performance was palpable. Singer Nathan Willett could be found traversing the stage holding any number of shakers and noisemakers to keep the crowd bopping along and properly enthusiastic for the final set.
With over 20 years as a band and six incredible records to pull from, Young the Giant brought a sense of introspection to the Victory Garden Tour. The stage bloomed to life as they emerged to “Evergreen” from the new album and “Superposition” (an old favorite) to give their devoted audience a taste of the setlist to come. The band has formed a deep and genuine bond with their ever-growing fanbase over the years and that connection came to vibrant life on Tuesday evening. Singer Sameer Gadhia reminisced fondly about the last two decades performing as Young the Giant, acknowledging that selecting a setlist at this stage of the band is incredibly difficult. As a compromise, they pulled out shortened versions of “Repeat” and “Silvertongue” to the delight of the audience.
The tour, of course, served to bring the band’s latest record to the stage and every chosen song was received with enthusiasm from the room. The lilting “Mona Lisa” put a smile on so many faces while “Ships Passing” tapped into a deeper well of emotion for both the band and their fans. Young the Giant also got to properly acknowledge the success of “Different Kind of Love”, celebrating its success alongside the people that made it possible before transitioning into the final leg of the set.
The audience got up to jump with the band to “My Body” and maybe shed a tear or two during “Cough Syrup”. Forgoing an encore, the band played straight through “The Walk Home” and “Mind Over Matter” before thunderous applause and the instrumentals of “Life is a Long Goodbye” brought the night to a sensational end. The band took a final bow before handing off setlists to a few lucky fans, waving in gratitude and taking their leave from another unforgettable Arizona performance.
