The Runarounds came to The Pageant on February 4. as a part of their Minivan Tour. The band formed after all being cast for the show The Runarounds on Prime Video, which follows a small indie-rock band that was created by a group of graduating high school students. The band members consist of, Axel Ellis, Jesse Golliher, William Lipton, Zendé Murdock, and Jeremy Yun. They then decided to continue on outside of the show and have been releasing new music and touring since.

The concert started with the opener, The Back Alley. While I had never really heard their music before, I didn’t feel like that was necessary for me to enjoy their part of the show. They had a fun and carefree vibe and it felt like they were there to have fun. I also feel like they really knew how to draw the crowd in. During many concerts, people sit there on their phones if the opener is someone they do not know. This wasn’t the case here. Everyone was dancing along and participated in fun things like waving phone flashlights to certain songs.

The performance from The Runarounds genuinely shocked me. I had previously watched the show and really liked their music, but it was 10 times better in person. During their performance, you can really tell that they love what they do and are living their dream to the fullest. They have goofy bits they do during certain parts of their songs and just truly look like they enjoy being there. You can tell that they really are great friends outside of the show.

I also feel like all of the band members have so much musical talent. You could even tell this in the very beginning of the show with how seamless their transition from the speakers playing “Enter Sandman” by Metallica to them starting their first song of the night, “Ghosts.” I was especially impressed by their drummer, Zendé Murdock. Some of his parts in the songs are insanely fast and I loved how he was able to play them at this speed but also have each hit of the drums be differentiated. When writing their songs, I feel like they did a good job of making sure they showcased Zendé’s immense talent.

One of my favorite parts of the show was the band’s covers. They covered “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” by Jet and “Valerie” by Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse. The band doesn’t have a very extensive discography yet, but they didn’t let that shorten the show. I really loved their rendition of “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” because it felt like it complimented their voices well. I also liked that the song didn’t sound too similar to the original version and they really made it their own rendition. “Valerie” is a cover that actually originated from the show and is their sixth top song on Spotify. I really enjoy the different feeling they put behind the song and even like it better than the original version. It has a good build up throughout the song and the ending is very satisfying.

Another part I love about the band is their use of different vocalists. Lipton, Ellis, and Golliher are all vocalists for the band and are able to bring different elements to different songs. One of my favorite examples of them using their talents to their full potential is in their song “Shoelaces.” In this song, Ellis and Lipton switch back and forth on who sings the lines. I feel like this really played into the playful and upbeat vibe of the song. Overall, I feel like all three of them have amazing voices and I felt like their use of different vocalists for different songs really added to the songs rather than making it feel like one particular voice was fighting for the spotlight.

The Runarounds are an extensively talented band. They are able to bring so many different elements to their shows that I haven’t really seen too much of before, even in comparison to bands that are much larger than they currently are. I think this band is one of the best I have seen in a long time and I really hope they continue to get the success they deserve.