Neon Trees rocked House of Blues Boston with a performance that showed that the band’s energy extended well beyond their hits Oct. 27.
The show closed out the “Sink Your Teeth” tour, a 33-date headlining tour supporting the Provo, Utah band’s fifth album, “Sink Your Teeth,” which was released Sept. 20, 2024. The album was featured quite heavily in the show, with seven of the set’s 19 songs being from it, with highlights including “El Diablo,” a song decrying the actions of the Trump administration, as well as “Secret,” which lead singer Tyler Glenn explained was about his time before coming out as gay 11 years ago.
Both of the show’s opening acts had strong Boston connections, with special guests Hush Club hailing from Somerville and tour opener Twin Shadow having started his music career in Boston. Both bands certainly got the energy up, with Hush Club getting the crowd grooving with soft rock songs like “Caroline,” while Twin Shadow would transition the crowd into a heavier vibe with a mix between heavy rock and EDM, featuring songs like “Alemania” and “Saturdays.”
However, Neon Trees themselves had not played a headlining set in Boston since 2015, and last played at House of Blues in 2014 on the “Pop Psychology” tour. The band certainly rewarded the crowd for its patience, with an electrifying show featuring the new, the old and everything in between.
Glenn came out with energy bursting, barely using a mic stand throughout the show, and moving around the stage at will. He frequently involved the crowd in the show as fans in the venue sang along with him.
“Are you ready to hear 90 minutes of really sad f-ing pop music?” said Glenn after “Teenager in Love.”
After those songs, the band launched right into “Animal,” their hit debut single, which not only got the crowd highly engaged in the show but was also well used to introduce the band’s members. Neon Trees would keep the energy going with another hit, “1983,” the title of which, as Glenn explained, was in reference to his year of birth. This means Glenn is now nearly 42, a fact many certainly could not have guessed based on the band’s energy.
Following the hits, the vibe was still energetic, though certainly not quite as frantic as the opening songs, mostly consisting of songs from “Sink Your Teeth,” as well as deep cuts like “Songs I Can’t Listen To” and “Used to Like.” The main set ended with a very soft closing song in “Sleeping With a Friend,” a deep cut from “Pop Psychology.”
However, the encore was resurgent, starting with “Losing My Head,” the second single from “Sink Your Teeth,” reviving the audience’s energy. The band then went into a cover of “Don’t You Want Me” by The Human League, which sounded perfectly like the rest of the set.
That set up what everyone was waiting for, the megahit “Everybody Talks,” introduced with a slowed version of the chorus. Glenn gave the audience one last chance to sing, leaving them an entire chorus, and the song overall summarized the energy of the concert, energetic and making sure everyone went, “I want some more.”
