Back in 2015 my close friend, who I often attend concerts with, dragged me to one of the best shows I have had the pleasure of attending. She had sent me the headlining band’s debut album, which happened to be their only album at the time, Strange Desire, via email. I had listened to it as if I were barely interested, only really learning the catchy tunes. Come the day of the concert, I could only be as excited to see a band as a guy who only knew four songs, which I was. To my surprise, I was blown away by the nonstop party and rush of energy and passion that is a Bleachers show.
Fast forward two years, I have now seen Bleachers another two times, at the Governor’s Ball Music Festival and most recently at Good Morning America this past Friday. The group, who is now promoting their second album, Gone Now, is fronted by Jack Antonoff, who is also known as a previous member of Fun. and the genius writer and producer behind tracks for Lorde, Taylor Swift, and Sia. Antonoff is notably meticulous when on stage and seems to want to perfect nothing less of what he has pictured in his head to a crowd of his fans.
The show consisted of three songs to be broadcasted live on ABC, all of which got the crowd pumped, and another three as a reward for “being such a good crowd.” The first to be played was “Don’t Take the Money,” the first single off of the band’s sophomore album, Gone Now. Following a short interview by Michael Strahan, Bleachers followed up with their most successful song off of Strange Desire: "I Wanna Get Better." Following various segments, one of which revolved around how to successfully photograph your food, Bleachers ended the broadcast with “I Miss Those Days,” a saxophone-filled jam.
Throughout the commercial breaks and segments, Antonoff interacted with fans who created a banner with a painting of the front man, took selfies with the crowd (including my friend and I), and even adorably played with a toddler on stage. It is evident that Jack is down to earth and really cares about his fans, as he made relevant and quirky stage banter and even asked the crowd what they wanted to hear following the broadcast. He instantly regretted that last part as he received an indistinguishable roar of different song titles. Ultimately, the band played “Goodmorning,” “Everybody Lost Somebody,” and “Foreign Girls” for the second half of their time with us, making for a more intimate setting.
Michael Strahan could not emphasize how great of a crowd Bleachers produced any more than he already did and even went on to note that we were the best crowd to attend a Summer Series show, yet.
If you haven’t heard of Bleachers check them out here! Definitely check out Good Morning America Summer Series show if you can – get free tickets here!
