Grouplove took their ‘Rock and Roll, You Wont Save Me’ tour to its 7th stop at The Van Buren in Downtown Phoenix, AZ this past week. Grouplove has been playing music since 2009, and has not missed a beat since - Literally and figuratively. Grouplove comes out of the early 2010’s indie/alternative sound when rock music with synthesizers and electronic instruments was thriving. Since then, the group(love) has gone on to release 6 albums and travel all around the US and Europe.
The ‘Rock and Roll, You Wont Save Me' tour is being supported by Bully, a solo artist named Alicia Bognanno. Alicia typically plays with a band, but the “Bully” project at large is just her. The individuality offered an intimate experience for the crowd to relate to. With a few songs on the guitar, and a few on the keys, Alicia really connects with the audience. Playing upbeat but noisy indie rock with pop hooks, Bully has an early 2000’s sound mixed with contemporary influences. Paired with Grouplove, there's a hint of nostalgia to the entire bill with it already March of 2024.
Headliner ‘Grouplove’ took the stage introduced by “Come Together” by The Beatles, which is an intro I've never seen before, but a perfect song to walk out to. Playing for a sold out Van Buren, there were more than a couple grouplove t-shirts in the audience. Having played top festivals like Lollapalooza in 2017, the group(love) has had years of playing for big crowds. It's clear they just want to have fun, with them running around and jumping around immediately as their set kicks off. I've seen very few light shows that rival Grouploves, and it's quite the scene for the crowd. The lights, mixed with their energy, the whole show is as engaging as it gets. They open with “Close your eyes and count to ten”, released in 2011. They then jump a decade to "Primetime" off of their 2021 release, This is Love. Right there displaying the breadth of their discography, Grouplove has stood the test of time. They’re traveling from coast to coast right now, and even after years of touring it feels like they have the energy of a band who's just coming up. I'd highly suggest you take advantage of the rest of this tour, as it's just kicking off.
