Concert review: Timeflies put on a timeless show

Rachel Harriman
Wed, 11 Nov 2015 16:16:36 +0000
Arts & Life, Music

With a rocky opening DJ act that was heavy on Bruno Mars throwbacks and light on any original material, a feeling of apprehension filled the crowd as concertgoers awaited Kalin and Myles and Timeflies’ performances at Newport Music Hall on Tuesday night.

Kalin and Myles did a good job of winning the crowd back by pitting the two sides of the hall against each other in a cheering battle and leading a dance party to the “Macarena.” When they stepped off the stage after their final original song, “Bounce,” the audience was hyped.

Around 9:30 p.m., lead vocalist of Timeflies, Cal Shapiro, opened his set with “All Night Long.” As soon as he hit the stage, the crowd erupted with cheers. Engaging the audience with clever remarks and flirty comments, the New York native had everyone in the hall jumping and waving their hands to the beat by his second song.

Shapiro and his partner Rob Resnick quickly won over any on-the-fence fans with cheers of “O-H” “I-O” and complimented the crowd on its enthusiasm, with Shapiro stating that “this crowd is the best crowd of the tour.”

Taking the crowd back to the beginning of their journey, Shapiro remarked that he was “thankful for the fans that have been with us since ‘Scotch Tape.’” ‘The Scotch Tape’ was the duo’s first album, released in 2011, when the band was new and its fan base was practically non-existent.

The night continued with popular songs such as “Jump and Shake,” “Monsters” and “Stuck With Me”.

Shapiro then prepared the crowd for one of his noteworthy freestyles, prefacing the act by saying that “critics always think I plan these (freestyles) ahead of time, but they are always random”.

Fans that follow the duo via their website can post random suggestions on the Timeflies fan page. Some of these suggestions are chosen to be featured in one of Cam’s freestyles, where he makes up a rap on the spot.

Some of this shows’ best suggestions included “Hang on Sloopy,” “spicy bacon,” “Starbucks” and “national champs.” Shapiro effortlessly combined these random words and phrases into a coherent rap to the tune of Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” and Omi’s “Cheerleader”.

Tuesday’s crowd also got a special treat, because Shapiro sang not one, not two, but three different “Timeflies Tuesday” mash-ups featuring songs by The Weekend, Miley Cyrus and Walk the Moon.

The duo rocked out with the audience some more before leaving the stage after one of their most popular songs, “Swoon”. However, before the crowd could even think of leaving, Timeflies was back for an encore.

Shapiro and Resnick brought Kalin and Myles back out for one more song, and then ended the night with one last “O-H” “I-O” chant.

The Timeflies concert was a great show with high energy, dancing and great music, ensuring that everyone in the audience had a great time.

And so, the age-old adage proves true: time sure does fly when you’re having fun.