Arizona welcomed The Technicolors home to Crescent Ballroom last week on the final stop of their Heavy Pulp Summer Tour and the band ripped a set of classic favorites and new songs from their latest album. The ballroom was full of longtime fans eager for the band’s return to Phoenix and The Technicolors held nothing back on Saturday night.
The stage was hazy and color-drenched in blue, pink and yellow lights as the group emerged to cheering from the buzzing crowd, immediately launching into “I’ll Love You Someday” and “Howl”. The core of the band has always been singer Brennan Smiley and guitarist Sean Silverman and they were joined by a slew of stellar musicians including bassist Eric Halvorson (another AZ homecoming) and legendary producer Bob Hoag shaking an enthusiastic tambourine and various percussion instruments.
More than the music- which is uncompromising indie rock and its best and loudest- The Technicolors play one of the most consistent and purely enjoyable sets found in a live act today. Their onstage flourishes are the only difference between their recordings and live performances- they are a band that delivers excellence every time they step on a stage and the fans love them all the more for it.
The setlist had plenty of new music mixed in with older material and the fans gave the same love to “Serotonin” and “Posh Spice” as they did to “Sweat”, “Feels Like Trouble” and “Lillies for Lily”. Hands waved, bodies moved and friends and family mixed in with fans for a true celebration of the band’s building legacy. Smiley is typically reticent onstage but not lacking warmth- everyone was welcome and everyone was encouraged to have as much fun as the band was as they slammed through “Valedictorian” and “Sha La La”.
After songs from nearly every era of the band, the final songs had the amped up audience swaying to “Space Cadet” and “Tonight You Are Mine” before The Technicolors pulled “Hollywood” out of the vault and closed with “Neon Roses”. The band and the fans got to sweat together, wrapping up another strong tour with a victory lap in a city eager to finally have them home again.
