Walk the Moon at The Danforth Music Hall

Photograph by Randall Vasquez.

The rhythmic sounds of Walk the Moon cut through an otherwise dreary Wednesday night in Toronto as they performed to a sold-out crowd at the Danforth Music Hall. As the lights dimmed and the intro music played (the Disney classic, “The Circle Of Life”) the crowd merged like a machine, completely engaged and invested. The pulsing beat of “Different Colours” only fuelled the audience more as they settled in for the next hour and a half of infectious pop-rock anthems.

The four-piece group hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio are touring in support of their latest full-length release, Talking is Hard. The album branding is bright and simplistic and the corresponding live show matches perfectly. With an impressive lighting rig, the already dynamic songs are brought to life as lead singer Nicholas Pettricca helms the colourful ship with his dance moves all while rocking out on a keyboard/synthesizer front and centre.  True to their album name there is little banter between songs and little to no Canadian pandering that Toronto crowds have grown accustom to. Their thanks is genuine and evidenced enough through their musical charisma and lengthy set list.

But enough about the aesthetics, let’s get down to the music. Walk the Moon have crafted songs that are impossible not to move to and certainly impossible not to sing-a-long to…and they know it. While synth-pop certainly dominates with a smattering of 1980s throwback, don’t try to put their musical style into one category. Surprisingly the more aggressive track from their latest release, “Spend Your $$$” is a crowd favourite while the heavier “Up 2 U” is also well received. Diehard fans were also pleased to see beloved songs from the band’s 2012 full-length including “Tightrope” and “I Can Lift a Car”, the latter with an oddly cathartic audience visualization exercise preceding it. And of course the band’s latest banger “Shut Up and Dance” caused a complete frenzy amongst the crowd.

It was an evening of singing, dancing, and most importantly a splash of colour during a usually grey time of year. Now let’s ride this wave straight into the summer.