Some Nights are Just Fun

Story and Video Package by Haley Montague and Cassie Robison

The bright lights slowly dimmed and then went out. The fog crept across the stage. The giant crowd snapped to attention with hungry eyes set on the right corner of the stage where we all knew that they would walk from.

Hours earlier the final bell of the day had rung and Haley Montague and I had to practically hold ourselves back from sprinting to my car in excitement. With our best friend Janelle McClelland, we had waited months to go see the band Fun. in concert at the Intersection in Grand Rapids. Now, it was here. It only took us an hour and a half to get there from Ovid. We had anxiety from trying to drive in downtown Grand Rapids traffic and leg pains from standing in line for hours. But, it was all worth it to be standing only feet away from this great band.

The great moments of the night started while we were standing in line to get into the venue. The three of us noticed (while Janelle and Haley played the “Points Game,” sort of like “I, Spy”) a black town car pull up. As Haley said a sarcastic comment about not noticing the no park zone the car had just pulled into, my eyes wandered to the back seat where I saw a now very familiar face. Getting out of the car in a t-shirt and sports shorts was the one and only Nate Ruess! The lead singer of Fun. had just pulled up in front of all these fans and we seemed to be the only ones who had noticed him. Of course like fangirls we got our cameras out and made sure that we had proof of the sighting to show later as he casually strolled into the building.

The next great moment of the night was when the opening band, who I had never heard of, came out and blew my mind. The quirky indie-pop band Miniature Tigers played an hour-long set where they had the whole crowd dancing, clapping to the beat and laughing at the entire band’s nerdy dance moves. Frontman Charlie Brand kept everyone’s energy up by doing a great job with the songs as well as talking about Fun. and their experience on tour with them.

Then the greatest moment came, the moment that made everything worth it, with all the trouble of getting there, standing for hours, dealing with crazy girls trying to get in front of us by pushing at our backs the whole night and having our ears blown out by the speaker only inches away from us: Fun. came on stage. The crowd roared with excitement as the band ascended onto the stage. The band had gained their popularity when their song “We Are Young” featuring Janelle Monáe was featured on the popular TV show “Glee” and a Chevy ad during the Super Bowl. But as the band showed last night, they are way more than just that one song. All of their songs have a quality that make you want to get up and dance around while you sing along. They had enough energy to fuel ten bands on stage and they laughed and danced around. Although, I nearly fainted when Nate came over to our side of the stage and made eye contact with me and smiled (I have never felt so girly or giddy in my life). Haley and I also got to share looks with Jack Antonoff, lead guitarist in the band.

After an hour and a half of jumping up and down and screaming along with the songs until our voices were hoarse, the band ended their set. But as the crowd cheered for them to do one more song they replied with two more before giving us one last goodbye and good night with their song “Take Your Time (Coming Home.)”

The night was one of the greatest of my life and I plan on bragging about seeing them when years from now they are huge and everyone want to see them.

Check out Fun.’s latest album, “Some Nights,” using the free Spotify app: