Walk the Moon at ACL Live

On February 1st, Walk the Moon brought their Press Restart Tour to Austin, TX at ACL Live, and I'm sure glad they did. 

I have to preface this by saying that I was a very casual fan of Walk the Moon before this show... honestly if you'd asked me to name one of their songs, I'd have named "Shut Up and Dance" and couldn't tell you another one. But, after listening to so many of my friends talk about them incessantly, I figured I'd go to their show here in Austin to see what all the hype was about. 

Their opening band, Company of Thieves, were beyond incredible, the lead singer, Genevieve, completely commanded the stage with a fierceness unlike anything I'd ever seen from a performer. I left their set feeling proud and empowered, seeing a woman so powerful and in charge always makes me feel like I can take on the world. This is without a doubt my favorite part about live music, a lot of my favorite bands i've discovered as openers for someone else, Company of Thieves is no exception. 

While we were waiting for Walk the Moon to take the stage, I got to speak to some fans who gave me a run-down of what made this band, and especially this tour, so special to them. They explained that this tour had been canceled due to issues within the lead singer's family, and that the band had come back from their heartbreak stronger than ever. Learning about the meaning of "Press Restart" made the opening song that much more impactful. Everyone around us was screaming along with the band, singing the anthem of revival and a new beginning. 

Granted, I didn't really know much about this band before the show, but the strength and confidence they demonstrated on stage was the mark of what I could only believe to be personal triumph over whatever obstacles they'd faced last year. 

As the show continued, and despite briefly forgetting the lyrics to Aquaman (it was actually one of my favorite parts of the show, the man certainly knows how to adlib some new lyrics and make the best out of an awkward situation), I was enamored by the atmosphere that Walk the Moon created. I've been to several shows in this venue and I've never heard a crowd so loud in that room, the fans even had specific dances they would do during some of the songs (the best part was, they were easy to pick up on so I was dancing right along with them by the time the choruses came back around). Several times during the show, the lights would come up and the band would play very softly, just so they could listen to the crowd singing their songs back to them, parents, children, old, young, it didn't matter, everyone was singing loud and proud. 

Walk the Moon put on one of the best live shows I have seen in a while, and absolutely gained a new fan last week.... I may or may not have downloaded every song I could get my hands on, they're now a staple in my playlists. If you haven't listened to them since they were all over the radio with "Shut Up and Dance", I suggest you give their new album a listen and catch them on tour with Thirty Seconds to Mars this summer, you'll definitely see me there.