PASSION PIT Live + Pics: “Uh, wait. Hold up. I’ve forgotten the words…”


Michael Angelakos, Passion Pit, Mikala Taylor/BSR photo

You gotta feel a little bit bad for Passion Pit’s singer Michael Angelakos.

Play a great show, sing your heart out, get all the under-25s riled up with your peppy synthpop, launch into “Little Secrets” …and then forget all the words. Not like, “whoops, I mixed up that last verse” but like “Holy shit, I honestly can’t remember my own song that I’ve sung, like, two thousand times.”

And not only forget all the words but shut the song down part way and ask the audience if anyone can fill the lyrics in for him (they can’t, really). Then ask your band (drummer Nate Donmoyer shrugged as if to say “Dude, I’m the DRUMMER”). Then get hold of an iPhone from an audience member who has GOOGLED THE LYRICS for you. Then sing the rest of the song by reading from the iPhone. Then have a roadie offer you the lyrics PRINTED UP ON PAPER. Then finish the song admirably.

Absolutely awesome, Passion Pit. No, really, well done.

You gotta dig a band that soldiers on in the face of adversity. I do.

So what happened?  BC bud? Pre-planned amnesia? Well, no…

It was funny, yes.

So it’s here where I feel a little bit bad for Angelakos. Not for the brain fart* itself or the fact that an early morning hellish Air Canada flight fucked with his mojo. It’s for the fact that the brain fart is all anybody (hacks like myself included) will now likely talk about when referencing the show.

But here’s what happened before all that: high energy from the band, and creaming, screaming kids, shouting along to “The Reeling” and bouncing like giddy rubber balls. Angelakos reaching into the audience during “Live to Tell The Tale,” and having hands literally climb and grasp all the way up his arm. Getting even the back row of the balcony to wave its arms in unison. Or the other use of an iPhone – the leaning in towards a thrilled girl proffering hers, taking a picture of yourself – her hero – beaming. “Are you smiling right now?” Angelakos asked before “Moth’s Wings” and, like, everyone was.

Passion Pit may play happy electro for college kids. And the reverbed falsetto and synthlines from the album (Manners) and EP (Chunk of Change) may sound a wee bit samey. And when he sings, all wide-mouthed and tongue-out, Angelakos may look like a loveable cross between Adrian Grenier and Fizzgig from the Dark Crystal (thanks to my mate Natasha for that image, which is now burned eternally into my consciousness).

But they’re good. They’re fun. They’re warm. And Angelakos is a charismatic frontman. And they’re still a relatively young band. So I’m keen to see how it all pans out for Passion Pit.

And next time they play live, I’m gonna memorize all their lyrics. You know, JUST IN CASE. \m/

*With thanks to Eric Morrison


4 responses to “PASSION PIT Live + Pics: “Uh, wait. Hold up. I’ve forgotten the words…””

  1. terrific coverage, mikala.
    was scratching my noggin going “where do i know Fizzgig?” yesterday.
    thanks for drumming up that henson gem!
    \m/

  2. That was my phone he used! Such a sweet experience, I have a vid of the whole thing happening if you’re intereted

  3. Hey Nelson! What a great experience indeed. How cool. If you wanna upload the video to YouTube and email it to me (or send the video on and I can upload it to the BackstageRider channel), then I can add the link in. Would love to see it and I’m sure Michael from PP would too ;)) My contact details are on the contact page xx

  4. Check out the video of when Michael forgot all the words and how Nelson and his mates saved the day via Google. Thanks, Nelson, for sending this on!

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