Fitz and The Tantrums Bring Their Dance Pop Sound to Stage AE; Molly Hatchet Plays Jergel’s (Thurs., 7/14/16)

1) Part L.A. hot new wave band, part Motown sound with a Bruce Springsteen-like wall of sound thrown in—that’s how I described Fitz and The Tantrums when they first came on my radar a few years ago. Fitz is lead vocalist/keyboardist Michael Fitzpatrick, who teams up with vocalist/percussionist Noelle Scaggs to belt out the songs. James King, Joeseph Karnes, Jeremy Ruzumna, and John Wicks are the talented Tantrums who generate beautiful, hard-driving waves of sound. The band broke out in 2010 when the album Pickin’ Up the Pieces reached number one on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. The album generated several hits including “MoneyGrabber,” “Don’t Gotta Work It Out,” and “Breakin’ the Chains of Love.” Fitz and the Tantrums followed up with More Than Just a Dream whose “Out of My League” also climbed the charts. Fitz and the Tantrums have grown into a more highly polished dance-pop sound and have lost some of their raw musical power, but they are still a very interesting band to hear live. Their latest release is self-titled and contains the single “HandClap.” They’re at Stage AE with special guest Zella Day. Doors open at 6 p.m. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. (RH)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPt9qQ77eAU

2) Southern fried rock from Molly Hatchet is on the menu at Jergel’s Rhythm Grille this month. “Flirtin’ With Disaster,” “Dreams I’ll Never See” and “Gator Country” are the songs that propelled Molly Hatchet to the upper echelon of 1970s southern rock. The band hails from Jacksonville, Florida, the same town that produced the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd. Molly Hatchet is appearing with special guests 28 North. 8 p.m. 103 Slade Ln., Warrendale. (RH)

3) Captain Fantastic – I know what you’re thinking: “Oh no, it’s another Marvel comic book movie! Captain Fantastic—is he the one leap tall hedges in a single bound or the one who shoots Kleenex out of his wrist?” You’re so wrong. About as far away as you can get from a summer action movie, Captain Fantastic is about a man, Viggo Mortensen, who has lived with his family in seclusion in the Pacific Northwest in the belief that a rigorous physical and intellectual education would be the best thing for them. When his wife dies and he visits with the real world he comes to see that instead of helping his kids, he may have actually done more harm than good. The film is written and directed by Matt Ross and co-stars Frank Langella, George MacKay, Kathryn Hahn, and Steve Zahn. Check Fandango for screens and times. (TH)

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