Trevor Terndrup of Moon Taxi at Jeep On The Rocks on Oct. 6, 2018. (Angela Smith/CU Independent)
Fitz and the Tantrums, Walk The Moon and Moon Taxi took to Red Rocks on Oct. 6 for the annual Jeep On The Rocks concert hosted by iHeart Radio. While it was a cold night, Red Rocks was full well before Moon Taxi took the stage.
Moon Taxi opened with the single “Not Too Late” off their most recent album Let the Record Play. The fans, which mostly consisted of families and older couples, sang along throughout the show. The crowd was into the track “Good as Gold,” especially with the exceptional lighting work and great stage presence of lead singer Trevor Terndrup. As much as the crowd enjoyed the entire set, the fan favorite was definitely “Two High” which played extensively on the radio over the last year. It was the perfect song to close the set.
Next on stage was Walk The Moon who was definitely a crowd favorite. The band walked out to the opening instrumental of the Lion King’s “Circle of Life.” They then opened up their set with “One Foot,” the first single off their 2018 release entitled What If Nothing. This immediately had the crowd engaged and dancing. Their set was full of well-known songs like “Different Colors,” “Kamikaze” and their hit song “Shut Up and Dance.” While their set was full of their major hits, they also featured songs off their 2012 self-titled debut album, including “Lisa Baby” and “Tightrope.”
A solid portion of the crowd was definitely there for Walk The Moon. Many fans came prepared with the band’s signature face paint and participated in every interaction the band had with the crowd. Right before the song “Up 2 U,” lead singer Nick Petricca gave a speech on how important it is to not give up hope despite the current political situation. He then encouraged everyone in the crowd to register to vote, which I found very fitting before the song “Up 2 U.” As they ended their set with “Anna Sun,” it felt as though most of the crowd was at least a little bit more of a Walk The Moon fan than they were before.
After Walk The Moon, Fitz and The Tantrums hit the stage with an incredible set bursting with energy. They played songs I had forgotten I liked and reminded me why I enjoyed their music so much. Their simple, catchy lyrics and upbeat tempos and rhythms make it hard not to dance when their songs come on. The crowd was super into the hit single “Handclap,” participating in each engagement Fitz made with the crowd. Fitz kept the crowd engaged by addressing them after every other song.
2018’s edition of Jeep On The Rocks included a great lineup of acts that were both enjoyable to watch and made you forget about the cold for just a bit.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Angela Smith at angela.smith@colorado.edu.
