By Jordan Bickham
Design Editor

As we walked down Elm Street in the dark, we squinted our eyes, looking for our destination.  Eventually, we saw the small sign, faintly glowing ‘Three Links’, the location of the Young the Giant concert.

Walking in, we saw that rather than it being a large concert venue, it was actually a Deep Ellum bar with a small stage and room for maybe 200 people.  Once we were into the room, we scanned the small crowd of maybe 15 people that was beginning to gather.  Suddenly, we all took a sharp breath inwards as we saw Sameer Gadhia and Francois Comtois (the lead singer and drummer respectively) right in front of us.  Before the concert had even started, we had already seen the stars of the show.  With this incredible beginning, we had high hopes for the show, and even so, we were nowhere near disappointed at the end of the night.

After seeing Young the Giant live in San Francisco at the Outside Lands festival, my friend and I had previously experienced its concert. Even so, we were not prepared for the concert we enjoyed.

Upon looking at our tickets again, we realized that the concert did not actually start until 9:00, meaning that we had three hours to stand and wait.  Nevertheless,  we were able to get front row spots and had time to talk with others in the crowd, including those who arrived so early that they were given meet and greet passes beforehand. After enduring three hours of standing around, the band went on stage to start the show.

Knowing that Young the Giant is about to put out a new album, I had already expected a new song or two. Instead, the majority of the concert was focused on the new album coming out in a few months, including its recently released single, “It’s About Time.”  The single shows the never-before-seen side of the band, a more rock-oriented side.  And throughout the show, with new songs mixed in, there was more of a rock concert feel.

Even so, Young the Giant made sure to please the crowd with a number of songs from its debut album, “Young the Giant,” that was released in 2010 and had a beachier, Californian feel.  Fan favorites such as “My Body,” which landed them on “Music Awards”, and “I Got” were played.  In general, the concert was very up beat.

Still, Young the Giant managed to include two slower-paced songs, one being from its new album, the other being “Islands,” an eerily beautiful, nearly acapella song from its first album.

While the music may have changed pace a bit, the concert itself never did.  Every band member was 100 percent into their performance, particularly lead singer, Gadhia, who danced around on stage for the duration of the concert.  Not only were all the band members energetic and entertaining, but they were also very connected with the audience.

Towards the end of the concert, Gadhia actually got down from the stage and had fans sing with him (myself being one of them).  He even filmed the show from his perspective with an audience member’s cell phone. Not only was it fun for everyone, but it also showed how much Young the Giant truly loved its fans.

With the end of the concert, everyone stayed around, hoping for an encore. Sadly, the band decided to not come back out as they had had a long day driving from Austin that morning.  Even so, my friends and I refused to leave as we had the high hopes of possibly meeting them.

After waiting around for an hour afterwards, talking with the stage crew and hanging out at the bar (no alcoholic beverages of course), we followed some girls who worked at the Three Links. They had been talking with the band’s manager and were actually getting directions to the bar/restaurant where the band was hanging out.  After much debate, we followed the girls into the restaurant and were able to meet the band, discussing with them their new album, their performance and when they were coming back. Needless to say, this went down as one of the best nights of my life.

While we did not find out about the concert even a week before it happened, and while we were skeptical about the venue, the concert turned out to be a great success.  The band was incredible, showing its more rock-oriented side as they introduced music from their next album. Every member was talented as seen with the various solos throughout the show and Gadhia’s consistently good vocals.

With the combination of front row placement, the band’s incredible talent and kindness and the unique opportunity to meet them, this will be a concert I will never forget.  And, needless to say, I will be seeing them again then they return to Dallas.