Review by Adaline & Scott Cornell | Photos by Scott Cornell

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Nestled on a quiet pedestrian street, on an unseasonably cool overcast August evening in Saint Paul Minnesota lies the historic Palace Theatre. The recently renovated, shallow but steep, two-balcony venue retains much of the Palace’s history in its post-renovation derelict preservation.

Concertgoers continued to trickle in as Maggie Rose took the stage. A five-piece led by singer-songwriter and band namesake Maggie Rose Durante. The quintet led by Nashville-based Rose charmed the growing crowd with their blend of sensual & soulful rock-and-roll, soul, folk, funk, and R&B. Showcasing their range from high tempo openers to groovy slow jams like “Saint”.

Maggie Rose instructed and encouraged the crowd to sing along to ”Smooth”. A sultry, and enchanting breakdown provided keyboardist Kaitlyn Felicia Connor and guitarist Kyle A. Lewis time to show off their instrumental prowess. Rose seemed to be attuned to when fans would snap pictures and paid them additional attention, a subtle but appreciated act that was overlooked by most.

Nearing the end of “It’s You” the band effortlessly slid in the chorus of “Thank You for Letting Me Be Myself Again” by Maceo & All The King’s Men. During the last of a seven-song set, Rose donned an acoustic guitar. A technical issue brought a stagehand out who made quick work to remedy the issue without interruption.

Everyone onstage had an energetic presence about them. Maggie Rose charismatically retained the crowd's focus throughout the typically short opener time-frame. Maggie Rose was a perfect opener for the following acts and lent well to set the mood for the rest of the evening.

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Under the cover of darkness, Andy Grammer and his six-piece band took the stage as a heavy bass track played over the sound system. Brilliantly colorful LED strips adored the stage and risers, the visualizations playing behind the band, mimicking the before-mentioned LEDs. Grammer took the stage to thunderous applause, cheers, and whistles. Spoken word from Grammer prefaced the music. For the first song, photographers were held back to allow for Grammer’s signature show opener. CO2 blasts filled the air in front of the stage and a brown couch that one would expect to find in a dimly lit basement hangout occupied the center riser that lined the back of the stage.

Lively choreographed dance moves from the bassist, keyboardist, and brass section and crowd interactions from Grammer throughout the 17-song set kept the crowd in lockstep with the performance. Aspirational empowering and inspiring, Andy Grammer and company are an overflowing chalice of energy, smiles, positivity, and good vibes!

When ”Honey, I’m Good” started, voices abound and sang every word. Grammer jumped into the crowd and sang his way through the crowd to the beat of the song. Back on stage Grammer made mention of a mash-up of ”Honey, I’m Good” and Earth Wind & Fire’s “September” wrapping with an instrumental of the song.

A medley of “Pennies From Heaven” (a cover originally performed by Bing Crosby in 1936), “Stay” and “Fine by Me” provided an opportunity for the keyboardist, bassist, and brass section to occupy the couch, which became more utilized as the show progressed. The saxophone player took to the front of the stage to showcase her skills during the bridge of “Fine by Me”. Many times throughout the performance the band members seemed to be enjoying themselves even more than the audience considering the crowd was a sea of Grammer’s fans and visibly a force to be reckoned with.Grammer took to the couch to kick off “Keep Your Head Up” performing a short beatbox session before the guitarist mounted the couch next to Grammer and soloed the bridge to perfection.

Micheal Fitzpatrick of Fitz & The Tantrums joined Grammer on stage for ”Wrong Party” in which during the last chorus Grammer prompted the crowd to sing along without music.

Book-ending the performance, CO2 blasts were once again fired off as thousands of pieces of confetti rained down as the crowd sang and danced to “Joy”. Upon the conclusion of Grammer’s performance, the crowd gave the performers a standing ovation.

“The Wrong Party Tour” is in support of Grammer’s forthcoming fifth album due out later this year. Grammar shares the spotlight with Fitz & The Tantrums, taking turns headlining on each date of the tour.

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Fitz & The Tantrums, a six-piece based out of Los Angeles wound up the crowd by kicking the show off with high-tempo sing-alongs in their signature sound of indie pop and neo-soul that produces a hypnotic blend of r&b, hip hop, and rock & roll. Touring in support of their fifth studio album, set to release in October. Large intelligent lighting futures and strobes lined the riser along the back of the stage. Brilliant, vibrant lights and visualizations filled the venue and fans needed little to no prompting to participate with the performers. Despite the crowd thinning out some after Andy Grammer, the remaining fans more than made up for those voices no longer in attendance.

The vocal duo powerhouse comprised of Micheal Fitzpatrick a.k.a. “Fitz” and The Boss Lady, Noelle Scaggs had the crowd’s arms up and waving side to side during “123456” and performed with other band members in seemingly spontaneous choreography throughout the set.

Scaggs explained that ”I Need Help“ became a personal favorite of hers over the lengthy duration of COVID. “Livin for the Weekend” tested the crowd's constitution for the low end of the Palace Theatre’s sound system. Concertgoers were instructed by Scaggs to utilize the flashlight function on their smartphones for “I Just Wanna Shine”. The intro was illuminated solely by mobile phone lights. Eventually, stage lights were incorporated but many lights in the crowd remained lit, swaying with the beat.

During “Hands Up”, the band increased the tempo to a crescendo and ended in a near full stage blackout at which they left the stage. The crowd cheered persistently until the band re-emerged for a three-song encore beginning with “HandClap” with alternating CO2 blasts during the bridge. ”All the Feels” tested the bass again, ebbing heavy low beats into the crowd. Fitz & the Tantrums closed out “The Wrong Party Tour” with ” The Walker”. The second single off of the band's second album More Than Just a Dream. Considering the fervent fans of Andy Grammer that didn’t stick around for Fitz & The Tantrums, the energy and atmosphere didn’t change much. Some gleeful Fitz & The Tantrums fans embraced and utilized the newly reclaimed space to dance.