Reviewed by Abigail Lynn Davidson
I was the seventh person in line for Springtime of Youth 2023. I counted. I was really excited about seeing some of the other acts, but GROUPLOVE has been on my must-see list for as long as I’ve had a must-see list.
After sitting on the ground in a parking lot with some very nice strangers for about three hours, confusing a doordash driver by ordering a steven’s special to the parking lot, and eating a stranger’s trail mix, the time came, and we all sprinted to the barricade. By the way, running in Doc Martins? Don’t do that.
Three sets later, there they were. GROUPLOVE in Fayetteville for the very first time. They opened with “All”, from their upcoming I Want It All Right Now. This song begins a little bit slower than most of theirs, but it builds to an epic-scream-sing-in-your-car-type final chorus. It was the perfect song choice to create the energy for the rest of the set, and the lead vocalists, Hannah Hooper and Christian Zucconi, absolutely aced it.
Next was “Deleter”, the only song of the night from their 2020 album, Healer, which had the entire crowd jumping in unison (a sign of what was to come). This was probably the most dynamic song of the set, there was a really cool energy in the crowd and you could tell the band was feeding on it. Christian threw his guitar into the air when he was really feeling the song.
Four of the next five songs were off of my favorite of their albums, Spreading Rumours, and this was when I decided that they were even better live than on their studio albums. “Raspberry” and “Borderlines and Aliens” are my favorite songs off that album, and they were phenomenal live. I had burnt myself out on those two because of how often I listened to them last year, but I have a refreshed appreciation. Breaking up this block of Spreading Rumours, a track I had played on my show only weeks earlier, “Itchin’ on a Photograph”.
During “I’m With You”, Zucconi walked off the stage, sitting on an amp just next to the crowd. He then climbs onto the barricade in a couple of places, high fives a ton of people in the crowd, while still managing to absolutely belt the song like three inches from my face (this is when I notice that he’s wearing gold star eye shadow). After a brief fight with a screw on the amp that’s trying to tangle his mic wire, he climbs back up on stage and calms it down with the last verse, before speeding it right back up with the final chorus.
Next up was “Cheese”, and unreleased single from their upcoming album. After hearing this, on top of the first two singles, I think this new album is going to be one of my favorites. I was really impressed with their bassist, Daniel Gleason on this track, the bassline gave it a heavier tone, while still remaining peppy somehow? I’m sure I’ll analyze this track more when the studio album is out in July (keep an eye out for a review). All I know is that I love it, and I keep rewatching the phone recording I have of it, so I can’t wait to hear the studio recording.
Hooper gets on stage and starts talking about how cool and trippy the earth is, to enjoy it responsibly, and dedicates the next song to Earth Day, “Beans on Pizza”. Honestly, I’d never given this song more than a passing listen, but I really enjoyed it live, and so did the rest of the crowd. It was more of a swaying song, which was good because my calves needed a break from jumping up and down. I am not too cool to jump at a concert.
After that, another new song, “Hello”, which is just a little cheesy, but really fun and had a lot more energy than the studio recording. Everyone was singing along to the chorus by the end of it.
Everyone knows this next song. It’s “Tongue Tied”, the band’s breakout single from 2011. The crowd has clearly been waiting for it. I thought the energy was already at like 90%, but the excitement in the parking lot doubled the moment Hooper started talking about how you need your best friends, and hopefully they have a house, and everyone figured it out.
While Zucconi is tuning his guitar for the song, Hooper says, “I know what we could do, should Dan do a Shoey?” and then realized there’s no ~grown up beverages~. Someone throws, and she catches, a clear travel-sized face wash bottle filled with ~grown up beverage~ and Dan proceeds to chug it (but not out of a shoe). The song begins and everyone goes absolutely wild. Everyone knows all the lyrics. The coolest part of the song to me, was the unexpected transition to “Space Oddity” by David Bowie. It was literally so cool, and I want a studio cover of that song.
After “Welcome to Your Life” and “Ways to Go”, they introduce the final song of the night, “Colours”. This is my favorite song off the debut album, Never Trust a Happy Song, and I’m so glad they saved it for last. I think this song is the reason I was losing my voice the next morning.
Overall, I think the concert was phenomenal, and I know that I’ll see them again if they ever come anywhere near where I live. If this was an hour-long festival-type set, I want to see what they do with a longer set time. It was the best possible way I could think to spend a Saturday, and I’m so glad I went.
Rated ten out of ten.