Saturday night was a busy one around town; there was the Radio one-year anniversary shitshow party in Union Square, the Fat Creeps / Earthquake Party Halloween show at the Rosebud in Davis (click the links for their performances as the Ramones and Nirvana, respectively), and the Milligram reunion across the river at Great Scott in Allston. So if you missed the Saturday Night Live performance by former Bostonians PASSION PIT -- the first band bred by our city to appear on the show since... uh, Karmin? -- you are easily forgiven. Check the NBC embeds below for their renditions of "Take A Walk" (now known as the Taco Bell song? Take a Guac?) and "Carried Away," both off this year's excellent Gossamer record. Personally, I'm kinda surprised they didn't play the r&b-flavored "Constant Conversations" or the bursting "I'll Be Alright," two of the best tracks off their sophomore record and a pair of songs we're already spinning in frequent rotation on WFNX.com.
The performance was classic Passion Pit, musically strong and confident (they didn't seem fazed by the stage), and while it was unlikely to earn them new fans, those already locked into the band's bubbly synthpop should have been satisfied. One glaring thing about Passion Pit's SNL appearance, however, was their photo lead-in depicting the band as a four piece, complete with Queen II vibe. On set they had three female backing singers and both a male and female backup keyboard player, but front and center in diamond formation were vocalist Michael Angelakos, bassist Jeff Apruzzese, drummer Nate Donmoyer, and keyboardist/guitarist Ian Hultquist.
Ayad Al Adhamy, longtime keyboardist in the band and perhaps its most recognizable figure behind Angelakos, left Passion Pit before Gossamer dropped over the summer. No one really picked up on it, no one said or wrote anything, really, and both camps were extremely hushed about the departure. Al Adhamy was not on stage with Passion Pit when they kicked off their tour at the Bank of America Pavilion in June.
Today, oddly enough, it was announced that Al Adhamy's new band, the guitar-pop foursome TEAM SPIRIT, which also features former Dom guitarist Cosmo Kilburn Di Giulio, signed to Warner Bros imprint Vice Records. Interesting timing, innit? In a presser, Al Adhamy describes Team Spirit as "Bursting with soulpower -- a cocktail of Motown basslines, Thin Lizzy-esque dueling guitars, '90s sing-along hooks, glam beats, and Chuck Berry feet." Pretty much he opposite of Passion Pit.
Al Adhamy has said in the past that we fell back in love with the guitar, and loves his new role as animated frontman, not confined to the walls of synths he's perform behind with his old band. Team Spirit has already played Boston a bunch -- most recently a sweatbox show with Pretty & Nice and Miniature Tigers at T.T. The Bear's Place -- and have a string of five CMJ dates in their home base of New York City later this week before hitting the road with White Denim. They are a must-see live act, oozing with energy and fire.
As for Passion Pit, they're continuing their successful world tour in support of Gossamer, and are in DC tonight and tomorrow. Here's their SNL performance:
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