Fake Problems Live In Denver

In our end of the year roundup, I called Fake Problems my musical crush. Continuing with that metaphor, I’m drawing “Tiffiny + Fake Problems” all over my notebooks after their show in Denver last week. I have been dying to see them live (I could go into the details on why I haven’t yet and you could scold me, but I know I’m in the wrong so let’s just move forward). Needless to say, I loved every minute of this gig. Like “top gigs of the year” love. I was hooked on this band through their studio albums, but their live show is so much more. These guys absolutely throw themselves into the performance and look like their having the time of their lives. This is something I cannot get enough of from a band: a heartfelt live performance. It makes every show feel like a special occasion.

Before the gig, frontman Chris Farren spent some time front and center watching Denver’s The Knew give an excellent opening set. This is another quality that endears me to a band: knowing that you still love music even though you spend all of your time doing it. It shows. Another huge highlight of the show for me was how enthusiastic the crowd was, for all three acts. It is really refreshing to see the floor packed full of people dancing and singing along.

Fake Problems began their set with “ADT” and then moved seamlessly into “5678″. The band followed the tracklisting of Real Ghosts Caught On Tape with “Songs For Teenagers” and “RSVP”. I should mention how much I adored this album again, but hearing it live was something else. There is all this incredible energy that just can’t be captured on a recording.

My favorite moment in a night of really great moments was the song “Grand Finale”. Something bigger about this track came alive and the lyrics sunk in to mean more than they had upon any previous listening. The band did an unexpected cover of Bobby Darin‘s “Dream Lover” that was a lot of fun. The night ended with “Heart BPM”, which closed It’s Great to Be Alive and left the crowd begging for more.

Fake Problems – Grand Finale

The band also stopped by Illegal Pete’s earlier in the evening for a quick acoustic set as a part of the awesome Starving Artists Program. The photos from that are here. For more Eat & Greets, check out the full list here.

[Make sure to read our interview with Chris Farren here! For more on Fake Problems including many, many tour dates one of which you should definitely attend, visit FakeProblems.com. Denver! They'll be back at the Marquis on April 30th.]