Show Review: Miniature Tigers @ Stubbs Jr. (8/6)

Wednesday night at Stubbs Jr. offered a bill of three gracious acts that seemed to be happy to be playing to the live music scene of Austin, let alone to a crowd that was quite amped up. While the crowd was ready for almost anything, the bill didn’t stray far from the indie and synth pop that Miniature Tigers put out, and each opening act did exactly their job as openers; tantalize the crowd with enough pop jams to get them warmed up for the headliner.

First up on the small stage was Finish Ticket, a San Francisco group that looked young and fresh to the touring scene. Their songs and style were easily danceable and sounded similar to popular radio groups like Young The Giant, which the kids these days seem to eat up. Lead singer, while devoid of an instrument besides his voice, threw his whole body into the performance, which seemed to confuse the crowd before they got into the band’s indie pop tunes with dramatic build ups.

Next were Australian band The Griswolds that were also simply glad to be performing to a crowd that was paying attention, and their synth pop still had a lot of energy, but struck the balance between playfully youthful while doling out catchy tunes that begged you to dance and sway with them. They brought the hits, as well as the steady energy from the front man that was neither too hot nor cold in his performance. Opening bands always have the challenge of winning over crowds that have most likely never heard any of their music or sound before and The Griswolds successfully did just this, and gained at least a few fans from their short set.

As I’ve said before, the crowd was easy—their youth allowed them to be swayed by both openers with ease, and their enthusiasm was an almost refreshing break from some of the apathetic crowds I’ve stood in. Instead of standing cross-armed with a beer in fist they let their excitement for the band they were seeing take them over and danced and sang with the band. No stranger to screaming youths, Miniature Tigers picked up on this and utilized their audience, the lead singer taking the opportunity of the small venue to hop into the crowd and bring their already high energy to a whole new level. Though, at points it felt like they were a bit more focused on stage gimmicks than the music, which I am never a fan of. All and all, they played a set of tracks designed to woo and excite, which was fairly enjoyable though my mind was still on the opening set from the band before, who stole the show. The whole time of their set, I couldn’t really decide what to feel; I wanted to like their tunes, but the instances of pandering to the audience kept filling me with unease. This act was intended for a younger demographic, one, which I perceived to thoroughly enjoy their evening.