Let me preface by saying that the Rooney show was the most oddly entertaining experience I’ve had in a while. It was the first time in my life that I felt too old to be somewhere, and I’m only 20. I entered the Middle East, usually packed full of fashionable hipsters, only to be greeted by gaggles of preteen and teenage girls whose hearts I could almost hear fluttering.
That’s not to say that any of this was a bad thing. One, I was taller than a lot of people there and that’s a rarity and two, the audience had SO much energy throughout the show. I forgot what being really into a band in high school meant: the unconditional love and admiration these kids had for Rooney was astounding and really enjoyable in a kind of strange way to be around.
Rooney themselves really delivered what the audience was looking for. They swaggered on stage looking as cool as ever and the screeches of girls and hoots of guys surrounded them as they began to play. Everyone started to make hearts with their hands and hold them in the air periodically, which I guess is really popular to do at shows now because it never stopped.
Seeing Rooney play was really fun, though. There was a lot of singing along, dancing and awkward teenage couples, and everything involved blended so well with Rooney‘s performance. They clearly know what their fans like, and know their place with their audience. There’s something really awesome about sining along to “I”m a Terrible Person,” which they played towards the middle of their set and people really went crazy for “I’m Shakin,’” which was more fun than I’d expected and I couldn’t help but really get into it.
The only major complaint that I had about the show is that I thought the band’s banter was kind of boring. I can remember them talking, but not what they said even though I was kind of annoyed by whatever it. But that’s just evidence of how easy kids are to please. The member of Rooney could have talked about what they’d had for dinner the night before and still everyone in the audience would have laughed and screamed out of joy just because they were saying anything at all.
At one point they covered The Band‘s “The Weight,” which is an iffy choice for Rooney I think, as it’s quite the song to be tackling. However, it was very effortful and you could tell the band really cared about pulling it off and the cover was an overall pleasant one. I’m not complaining at least. And the numerous parents dotted around the venue clandestinely avoiding their children as not to embarrass them or cramp their style seemed to really appreciate it, too.
Rooney has opened up for bands like The Strokes, Ben Lee and OK Go, but you can really tell that they’re most at home when they’re headlining and they’re in front of their young but very dedicated fans. It’s definitely a really good time when they play, so if you’re prepared to deal with the all ages show crowd then Rooney is definitely an excellent choice. I can’t lie, the show melted my cold pretentious indie heart, if only for a couple hours.
by: Jimmy
