Neon Trees Light Up Los Angeles With Musical Celebration

A funny thing happened on the way to a well-deserved break. As Neon Trees vocalist Tyler Glenn told it during the band's performance Thursday night (June 11) at Los Angeles' Fonda Theater, he got bored. And while the band's Pop Psychology disc had already gone deep, he and the group felt the desire to get back on the road and do what it is they love to do and tour some more. As such, their current tour is more of a celebration of the past decade of music for the band.

And it didn't take long for Neon Trees to get into the flow, opening the night with the well-received "Songs I Can't Listen To," an upbeat reflective track that's yet to be attached to a new album. Decked out in a gold jacket and black shirt, Glenn danced around the stage, led a sing-along and even united the crowd in a "smoking gun" gesture during "Sins of My Youth" -- and by the third and fourth tracks, "Calling My Name" and "Your Surrender," the crowd was inarguably into the show.

Temporarily changing the energy of the room, Glenn and drummer Elaine Bradley got things swinging with a jazzy start to "In the Next Room," but it wasn't long until the song kicked in and Glenn was leg kicking around the crowd. The vocalist took some time to appreciate what the audience was giving back, revealing how much it meant to see the crowd singing along to songs that weren't necessarily radio singles, but then gave the audience two of the biggest singles of their career -- "1983" and "Animal" -- back-to-back. By this time, the Neon Trees show became more of a celebration that a performance.

The synth-clap tribal swagger of "Moving in the Dark" and the New Order-ish "Lessons in Love" got the fans dancing, while tracks like the anthemic "Still Young" and the electro-funk sermon "First Things First" took the crowd to new heights, including a unison arm wave during the latter track. Finishing out the core of the set was "Sleeping With a Friend," which saw Glenn get up close and personal with the audience, crowd surfing through the front of the Fonda faithful.

Returning to thunderous applause, Glenn promised something special and warned fans not to leave after the first song. As expected, the infinitely catchy "Everybody Talks" got fans pogoing and singing along, but the night's closer was a surprise as they busted out a raucous rendition of the Dexy's Midnight Runners '80s hit "Come On Eileen," Too-Ra-Loo-Rye-aye's included.

Earlier in the night, Neon Trees received support from a pair of female-led acts. Yes You Are, led by Tilly and the Wall's Kianna Alarid, gave a stellar performance to open the show. Alarid's vocals stood out on the new song "Echo" and Yes You Are brought an energy that yielded a strong response from the audience at the end of their set. It's definitely worth getting there early to catch this upstart band.

Getting the middle slot on the bill was vocalist Alex Winston, who also fielded a solid backing band that seemed to be the perfect compliment to the headliners. With a mix of synths, guitars, infectious drumming and plenty of groove backing her, Winston belted through such solid tracks as "We Got Nothing" and "Dead End," while showing some range with the more ballad-y "Down Low." Finishing out the night on a steady and building groove was the set highlight "Careless."

Be sure to check out Neon Trees, with special guests Alex Winston and Yes You Are on most of their upcoming dates. Take a look at their itinerary here. And peep some of our exclusive shots from last night's (June 11) show below: