On August 1, 2019 people from all over the state came to see Young The Giant; accompanied by The Aces and Sego. The temperature was a pleasant 84 degrees, which was nice compared to our usual summer weather. The night was full of drinks, food and most importantly good music. Anticipation was high. One of the photographers for the show, Justin Lagman, said “People were already lining up around 3 in the afternoon”.

Gallivan Plaza filled up quickly, with more people watching from the top of the surrounding buildings. The occasional cheers to the sound and lighting crew were hilarious and just raised the anticipation even higher as they got the stage ready for the headliner.

The main performance

It was finally time for the band to take the stage. The crowd quickly blew up with cheers as the beginning notes of “Oblivion” played off their most recent album Mirror Master. Bleeding into the next song “Something to Believe In”. The crowd rocked together back and forth in unison singing with conviction, “Now give me something to believe in.”

Already two songs in, it was easy to see that the band had quickly established crowd control and the audience were along for the ride. Toning it down a bit, the band transitioned to “Heat of the Summer”. They eventually ended their set with the melancholy “Call Me Back”, joined with couples slow dancing.

The band quickly thanked Salt Lake City and walked swiftly off stage. The crowd chanted together saying, “Encore, encore, encore!” With no hesitation, the band quickly got back on stage with lead singer Sameer Ghadia changing into a glittery robe. They played three more songs; ending it strongly with “My Body”. The lines, “But I won’t quit, cause I want more”, rang loudly across the venue as the lights intensified with every beat of the drum.

Crowd reaction

When asked about their favorite performance of the night, majority of concert goers agreed on Young The Giant.

When asking a group of concert attendees why, they said, “We grew up on them.” The majority of those who were asked agreed on “Something to Believe In” as the song of the night.

Even after the performance ended I could still feel the guitar chords, the banging of the drums running through the air, and the lines, “But I won’t quit, cause I want more”, as I was walking out of venue, joined by the crowd in the once again quiet streets of Salt Lake City.