Rooney & The Young Veins 6/22 @ Slim’s
The Young Veins
Over the last 10 years, pop music has been moving in a different direction: raunchier lyrics and sexier outfits to make everything more overdone and in your face than it really needs to be. With that said, it was incredibly refreshing to see Rooney and The Young Veins play at Slim’s on Tuesday, 6/22. Both bands have a classic pop music sound that the music industry has taken a turn from. For someone that grew up listening to pop music when it was a little more innocent and more about the music than the production, this show was a breath of fresh air.
The Young Veins were the perfect opening band for Rooney. They were there to promote their new album, Take a Vacation, which is an ensemble of songs sounding like an offspring of the Beatles and the Beach Boys. They definitely stood out, not only captivating the crowd with their upbeat sound, but also making everyone pay close attention. There was a mad dash to the merch table at the end of the set.
Rooney then took the stage around 10pm, opening with “When Did Your Heart Go Missing,” their first single from their second record. Though their previous albums capture the sound of a ’70′s California summer, they were here to bring attention to their new record, Eureka, which is a lot different and more ruthless than their previous releases. Though they played some of their classics to please the crowd, such as “Blueside,” “If It Were Up To Me,” and “Daisy Duke,” it was the rambunctious guitar riffs of their new songs that really made the show. Towards the middle of their set, they picked up the enthusiasm by playing, “I Should Have Been After You,” which took a turn mid-way through. Though the actual song has a fun beat that bounces along, they changed it around a bit, incorporating a pretty intense guitar breakdown between Taylor Locke and Robert Schwartzman. It made me take a step back and really appreciate the way these guys play and how they present themselves to their crowd.
This also marks their first tour playing with a new bassist, Brandon Schwartzel, who joined Rooney earlier this year after the departure of former member, Matt Winter. Schwartzel is definitely not disappointing, and delivered an impressive performance on Tuesday. Rooney’s live show captures the diversity of each member, album, and song. They immerse the crowd in songs from all of their albums, including their “Wild One” EP. Throughout the night, they bounced back and forth between their older records, but still holding a good balance with a handful of new songs including “Stars and Stripes,” “I Can’t Get Enough,” and “Holdin’ On.” Altogether, they performed an hour and a half set before they were cheered back on stage for their encore, which consisted of two songs: “Shakin,” from their first album, and “Not In My House,” from their new record.
Not only was the show at Slim’s fantastic, but it also felt very intimate. It’s obvious that Rooney loves what they do, and they relay that feeling of happiness onto the crowd and their fans. This tour promoting Eureka is a huge step forward and I believe we’ll be hearing more from them as time passes.