I have to hand it to you, Seven Cities:

you really brought it last week when you came to see Passion Pit at The NorVa. I mean, I was really feeling the love in that place (sometimes a little too much, Husky Bearded Guy and Red Dress Girl. Get a room). Seeing all of you out there – a sea of waving hands, dancing bodies and glowing bracelets – gave me hope for this town and what we can all accomplish as a community.

Photo | Darius Daniel

I’m sorry, I don’t mean to get all sappy and inundate you with daily affirmations and we-can-do-it-isms, but I was legitimately impressed that so many people were having such a great night despite six dollar beer prices and the sheer disrespect doled out by that bouncer working the line. I’m aware that the excellent security staff working The NorVa is, in fact, security and not mere bouncers, but this guy must have just watched Roadhouse that afternoon because he was ready to kick a teenage girl in the face at any moment. But I guess not even that guy could dampen determined spirits once the walls of The NorVa were filled with the sounds of guitars.

Of course there were opening bands and it would be a travesty to not credit the hard- working boys that make up Brahms and Tokyo Police Club, but Brooklyn indie rock is what it is and, while Tokyo Police Club are a little quirkier and Canadian, they leave much to be desired by way of inspiration. The crowd was digging it, though, and I’d like to give a special shout to all the parents who shelled out 23 bucks a ticket to keep an eye on their kids in there.

It was definitely Passion Pit that got the party started, their joyous tunes sending hands in the air and glow sticks flying. I’m always going to get behind a band that can get a crowd singing “na na na na na” so enthusiastically as Passion Pit did when they performed “Eyes As Candles”, but, more importantly, I’m always been behind the band that gets asses shaking. And, man, does Passion Pit get asses shaking! Vocalist Michael Angelakos worked the stage and the crowd with his antics and his sugary falsetto while the band bathed him and us in synth washes and glitch pop bliss. I felt bad for Angelakos, actually; up there working up a sweat for our entertainment and the crowd was throwing those glowing wristbands at his head all night. Someone tell me why, when the man expressed his disdain for such antics, the crowd was only prompted to throw those damn things with more vigor. I guess you were just feeling it, guys, I’m not judging.

Photo | Anne K. Rodriguez

I’ll be the first to admit that I can’t exactly tell one Passion Pit song from the next all the time, so I’m not going to give a detailed rundown on what they performed and when like some burned-out Deadhead. I just know they played these great songs that kept the crowd amped all night long (and you never let up on those bracelets either, did you?). They even did a cover of The Cranberries’ “Dreams,” which delighted our own Jesse Scaccia as well as the hundreds of other people in the crowd. (Jesse strongly (/foolishly) thinks all bands should perform more cover tunes, in case you were wondering.) Passion Pit made a name for themselves off the success of “Sleepyhead,” so I should mention that they performed that one and it was every bit as funky as one could expect.

But, really, we know Passion Pit brought it. That’s what they do. But I really want to emphasize how nice it was to see the entire crowd at The NorVa vibing and just having a damn good time with no pretense. I hope Norfolk/Virginia Beach gets its own indie electro (or whatever it’s called) band soon so I can witness that kind of thing more often.