X Ambassadors and Tribe Society electrify Schine Underground for first Bandersnatch concert

On Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m., a small but mighty crowd waited to enter Schine Underground for the first Bandersnatch concert of the year. University Union kicked off this series with X Ambassadors and their opening act, Tribe Society.
While attendance was not very large for Tribe Society at first, the crowd only grew as their act progressed. After opening with “Cove,” they played their most popular hit “Kings,” and the energy seemed to only go up from there. In addition to playing all the songs from their most recent EP, Lucid Dreams, they performed a remix of Major Lazer’s “Lean On,” a cover of Eminem’s  "Cleanin' Out My Closet” and an unreleased song called “Out Of My System.” By the time they ended their set with the song “Ego,” the crowd was begging for more.

“The opening act was really good, and the flute guy was awesome!” said civil engineering junior Alberto.

“Awesome” seemed to be the word of choice to describe the set: from lead singer Gavin Merlot’s emphasis on audience participation to the multiple flute solos performed by the “flute guy,” Seth Hachen, there was something in it for everyone.

The crowd then swayed along to songs by artists such as Matt and Kim, MisterWives and Big Data before the main act arrived.
When they did appear, the crowd was ready. X Ambassadors kicked off their 13-song setlist with “Loveless,” a high-energy hit that contrasts heavily with the chill tone of their Billboard 100 hit, “Renegades.” But the crowd matched the time of every song, whether they were fast paced like “Hang On” and “Gorgeous” or slower, like their most recent single “Unsteady.”
While most of the songs they played were from their newest album, VHS, they played “Love Songs Drug Songs” from the EP of the same name to appeal to longtime fans.

A highlight of the concert was a third of the way through, when the band played their song “B.I.G.” live for the first time. While this did not bring out the same level of frenzy that some of their other hits did, the audience was still very excited about this milestone.
However, arguably the most emotional moment of the night was when the lead singer, Sam Harris, took the stage alone to perform the Rihanna hit “American Oxygen.” Having written the song himself, Harris knew how to perform it so that everyone in the crowd got chills. When the song ended, the audience remained silent for a few eerie seconds before erupting in cheers.
The love among the band members was also evident throughout their set. Underneath the pink, yellow and blue lights used to highlight their set, Sam, his brother and keyboardist Casey Harris, lead guitarist Noah Feldshuh and drummer Adam Levin all got a chance to showcase their instruments in solos.
They closed their set with “Renegades” and “Jungle,” their two biggest hits and guaranteed crowd pleasers. They then went the extra mile and encored with their song “Superpower” to the crowd’s delight.