The California indie-rock band brings its ‘In the Open’ acoustic tour to Grand Rapids’ Fountain Street Church on Thursday night, revisiting stripped-back versions of their songs. The Local Spins interview.
Back on the Road: Young the Giant is reprising the band’s early acoustic performances staged in picturesque locations. (Courtesy Photo/Lupe)
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In their early touring days, the musicians in Young the Giant would routinely pack their instruments, and their lives, into a van, logging thousands of miles and hundreds of shows across the country.
To stretch their legs and sharpen their musicianship, the band would regularly stop along the side of the road to perform stripped-back versions of their recorded songs in scenic, often majestic locations.
These acoustic performances, recorded on video and titled “In the Open,” accrued their own following on YouTube.
There’s a performance of “Mind Over Matter,” filmed in a tunnel along Angeles Crest Highway in Southern California. Another, of the song “I Got,” is set against the backdrop of an overexposed desert landscape with the group in the foreground, acoustic instruments at the ready.
Then there’s the session of the alt radio hit “Apartment,” which finds the California band frolicking amid the misty hills of an ocean overlook before launching into a harmonious rendition of the popular song.
The indie-rockers decided to lean further into the realm of these acoustic sessions, releasing an EP titled “In the Open Volume 1,” earlier this month, and will embark on a national tour, performing reimagined arrangements of songs that span their entire discography.
Tonight (Thursday, Sept. 18), Young the Giant performs at Grand Rapids’ Fountain Street Church, a beautiful and cavernous setting for such a stripped-back set. Doors open at 7 p.m.; tickets for the show presented by The Pyramid Scheme — $66.66-$89.32 — are available online here. Cassandra Coleman opens the evening.
Ahead of the show, founding member and guitarist Eric Cannata spoke with Local Spins about the origins of the “In the Open” sessions, reinventing the band’s set list, and hitting the road for a unique tour with bandmates Sameer Gadhia, Jacob Tilley, Payam Doostzadeh and Francois Comtois.
Local Spins: What does prepping for this specific tour look and feel like?
Eric Cannata: This one’s a little different. “In the Open” is this YouTube series we started from our very first record. Every tour we’d be on, we’d kind of stop on the side of the road and film a very kind of raw and acoustic and stripped-down video of songs from whatever that current record was that we were touring. And so we built up all these videos of us performing in all types of different landscapes, outside mostly, some inside, but just beautiful landscapes across a lot of the United States. Over the years, we’ve had a lot of fans of the band ask when we were going to release these songs. So we finally put out a six-song EP called “In the Open Vol. 1” on streaming and 10-inch vinyl.
In preparation, we did some rehearsals and tried to figure out different arrangements to these songs, to capture the whole spirit of those videos we recorded on the road. It’s a very kind of throw and go. We would just grab our instruments, usually acoustic guitars, nylon string guitars, whatever we had, maybe some bass and percussion, or a little drum kit set up and we would perform in whatever landscape we would find nearby, making an arrangement on the fly. So that was kind of the spirit of this tour as well. To kind of just figure out different arrangements, more stripped-back arrangements to our songs because usually our live set is fully electric.
‘In the Open’: Young the Giant (Courtesy Photo)
Local Spins: You mentioned the first record, a self-titled album that became a pivotal launching point for the band. Looking back, what does that album mean to you today?
Cannata: There’s a lot of nostalgia, you know, it’s been a number of years. I think that record came out at the top of 2011. It means so much. It allowed us to really go for this as a career, to do the band. I think we all look at that record as the starting point, in terms of this really long journey we’ve been on together as good friends and, almost family at this point.
We look very fondly at that record. The recording making process taught us a ton. We worked with a producer named Joe Chiccarelli and felt like we kind of went through a boot camp in many ways. We recorded all the instruments together live. I think that really glued us together as a live band in a lot of ways. Playing those songs still to this day, there’s a real joy in them, naivety in them, and there’s a lot of nostalgia that they bring. I like seeing the response and the energy from the crowd. There’s just so much good energy that comes back at us when we’re performing those songs and all I could do is kind of smile and, and, and feel joy for the fact that that record connected with people.
Local Spins: What was life like following the success of that self-titled album?
Cannata: Well, I feel like putting out that first record, you know, we didn’t know what to expect. And I don’t think we ever could have imagined the growth of the band from that first record. We were just so excited to be able to leave college and pursue music full time as a band. It was a huge learning experience for us. After putting out that record, you know, there’s a lot of waiting. I think just by nature, in this job, there’s just a lot waiting and seeing kind of the response to something. But I would say once the record started picking up, we were really on tour for about two and a half, maybe three years or so. So life really became the road for a while there after. I was in my early twenties. So those were some really formative years, touring in the van and we had an absolute blast, but we were absolutely in a whirlwind of being on and off the road, trying to figure out life at home, what that meant, keeping good relationships with family and friends and romantic relationships. When we got back from the final tour of that record cycle, I remember we needed a minute. We needed some time to kind of recharge, figure out what we wanted to do next.
Local Spins: In what ways does performing stripped back or acoustically feel different than the usual electric full band set? Does it feel more vulnerable?
Cannata: There’s definitely a vulnerability to it, there’s kind of a nakedness to it in a way. We’re not playing to a click for these shows, so it’s very much that the tempos are organic to whoever’s starting the song, mostly our drummer. And so there is like a bit more of a looseness to it. I find it very enjoyable, the change of pace for this particular show, and I would say it is stripped back, but there are definitely some electric elements. I would say it’s kind of a hybrid. It’s really gratifying to play these sets and feel that rawness. And I think, for me, there’s something relaxing about that. So on stage I actually feel a little bit more relaxed and present. It allows me, when on stage, the ability to kind of drop my shoulders down and take a breath. It is something I want to carry over to our electric sets moving forward. I really want to get to that point where I can be fully present. But, you know, there’s the tenseness sometimes that comes with performance.
Local Spins: What does that tenseness look like for you?
Cannata: Well, I think that it’s just a mixture of the intensity of the set, you know, when we’re doing a full electric set. I do a lot of movement on stage. And so I think that sometimes I’m kind of throwing my body around. So just by nature, it feels almost like a sport in a way, kind of falling all over the stage. Which is great. There’s just some moments where my mind drifts and I might get into a little bit of my head. And it’s the practice of when I notice those moments, to be present and saying in my head, ‘hey, drop your shoulders, take a breath, relax.’
Local Spins: What keeps you looking forward to touring these days?
Cannata: I love performing and I love the camaraderie of touring. I love the band and the crew, the guys who work very hard to make the show happen with us. It’s just a really amazing friendship and bond that we all have. So just enjoying the time and the friendship. I love eating. I love coffee. I look forward to a good coffee in the morning, finding a good coffee shop and walking around. But yeah, I’d say, I’d say the shows really feel so special and that’s why we’re doing it. I think that still remains to be something that I look forward to being able to every day.
VIDEO: Young the Giant, “Mind Over Matter (In the Open)”
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