Young the Giant Bring American Bollywood to Houston with Support from Milky Chance

Young the Giant returned to Houston to bring their stellar American Bollywood tour with support from German indie-band Milky Chance.

The night had an amazing lineup – from an opening show by Rosa Linn, to an incredible co-headlining set by Milky Chance, and ending off with the immaculate Young the Giant. The venue was packed by the time Rosa Linn took the stage, who did an incredible job at getting the crowd hype with tracks like “SNAP” and “Hallelujah.”

Following Rosa Linn was Milky Chance, the indie-pop band from Germany that consists of members Clemens Rehbein, Philipp Dausch, Antonio Greger and Sebastian Schmidt. Different horizontal panels backed the band as it provided astonishing visuals and light shows to accompany each song. Starting off with songs “Ego” and “Cocoon” from Blossom, followed by “Down by the River” from their debut album Sadnecessary. Milky Chance rose to fame back in 2013 after their single “Stolen Dance” became a number one hit in America, and their debut album became a cult classic in the indie-folktronica community. Now, they are on their fourth album Living in a Haze, which follows a formulaic reel of complacent lyrics and joyous instrumentals.

Throughout the night, Milky Chance spent their time successfully showing Houston that the new “haze” era is all the rage, especially with songs like “Synchronize,” “Feeling for You” and “Better Off.” Even their older songs like “Flashed Junk Mind” and “Running” were performed with a twist. They also treated the city with a nice cover of “Tainted Love” by Gloria Jones, which got the crowd up and singing. The crowd went even more wild for “Stolen Dance,” as lead singer Clemens allowed them to take over the chorus. Milky Chance ended the night with their classic closer “Sweet Sun” from their debut, one of the best set closers ever due to the band’s hype, the killer harmonica solo and the colorful visuals.

Up next was the electric Young the Giant, who have recently released their four-part fifth album American Bollywood. They have also had quite a year with their album’s release, from performing at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheater and opening for Paramore during their Fall Tour, it was only time for them to head back on tour. In true YTG fashion, their setlist was also divided into four acts, and included an interlude and finale. They opened with ACT I: ORIGINS, which consisted of tracks “American Bollywood,” “Wake Up,” “Something to Believe In” and “Cough Syrup.” The rest of the four acts were a great rendition of new and old songs, such as “Dollar $tore,” “Nothing’s Over” and “Mind Over Matter.” Each track were also accompanied by aesthetically pleasing visuals.

“It’s been about four years since we were here last” lead singer Sameer Gahdia chants as Houston prepares for the encore. He encouraged the audience to turn on their lights when the beat drops to the song “Firelight,” a song dedicated to ideas and things that are not physically with us anymore. 713 Music Hall was lit from front to back, a beautiful gesture that the band truly appreciated. The band returned for the finale, which included “Superposition” and “Silvertongue.” The final song of the night was the popular “My Body” from their debut album, where the crowd was at their loudest.

Young the Giant and Milky Chance proved to be the iconic music duo we never thought we needed. Each band brought their own energy to the stage, and the audience did a great job at reciprocating that feeling. From the visuals to the song selections, the show definitely proved to be an indie kid’s dream. It introduced the fans to new music from each artist while still cultivating the tracks that made them successful in the first place.