Smallpools live review and smallpools concert photos

Smallpools Live Review + Concert Photos | The Social, Orlando | October 9, 2015

by • October 27, 2015

Every day is full of challenges. You can choose to face them head on or you can ignore them until they go away. But some would argue that no challenges go away if you ignore them, but rather bite you in the ass if you turn your back to them. Might as well face them, right?

Such was the case when I was called the morning of October 9th, 2015 and asked to conduct an interview with Smallpools. Naturally, I jumped all over the opportunity to hang out with a nationally touring band with multiple hits on the radio. It didn’t strike me until after I’d agreed to it, doing interviews is slightly out of my comfort zone, a challenge, if you will.

I won’t lie. I had a short list of excuses why I was suddenly unable to do that interview about 15 minutes after agreeing to it. But after deciding that faking my death wasn’t a viable option, I decided that stepping outside my socially anxious box of comforts wouldn’t be the worst idea.

So, I interviewed. I had fun. I conquered. Sure, it had its rough patches but challenges are rarely overcome gracefully.

READ MY SMALLPOOLS INTERVIEW HERE

After overcoming my challenge for the day, I figured I deserved a beer (plus 2 or 3 for good measure) and made my way back to SIGT headquarters for some quality time with the sexy staff members. Shortly after, Martin and I trekked to The Social, eager to soak in some sweet pop tunes. And that’s exactly what we got. Two whole ears full of catchy pop bliss.

Smallpools live review | smallpools concert photos

Smallpools started off their set with the energy of an ADHD kid with a sugar rush. They were fast and loud and had every eye in the room fixed on them. For just their second night into their “American Love” tour, these guys looked and sounded like they had been on tour for months. In the few moments where the crowd seemed to get tired, guitarist Mike Kamerman would pump them back up and get everyone’s feet back off the ground. At one point, Martin left his spot at the bar to join me in the pit because, “This crowd is too damn fun!”

Smallpools live review | Smallpools concert photos

Lead singer, Sean Scanlon, intermittently stopped between songs to interact with crowd members and share anecdotes from their history as a band. He shared a story about he and Mike as they first started writing material together after their move to L.A. He explained that they would go to karaoke nights at local bars and sing their own lyrics over the recordings of “Humans,” by The Killers. “Everybody would look at us like we were crazy,” said Scanlon. But this time, he had a room full of people at The Social to sing along with him as they proceeded to play a seamless mash-up of “Karaoke” and “Humans.”

To give us a quick break from non-stop dancing, they decided to bust out the acoustic instruments for a cover of “Lean On Me,” complete with an iPad campfire. As the front row clambered around Sean’s iPad, he cautioned them, “Be careful it’s hot.”

Smallpools kept the fun going during their “fake last song” by throwing inflatable whales into the crowd to bounce around the pit as they jammed out to “Killer Whales.” The inflatable Orcas were covered in spray paint doodles and were eventually taken home as souvenirs by a couple of lucky fans. But not before they were tossed around by every set of hands in the building, from the back of the room by the bar to on-stage. One even gave Sean a nice little Lovetap!, knocking the mic from his hands. He quickly recovered, laughed it off, and kept going with a smile still in tact.

Smallpools Lovetap! meme

Left: Lovetap! album artwork Right: Lovetap! at The Social (Photo: Adam Fricke)

But the real challenge for Smallpools came toward the end of “Killer Whales,” when the power at The Social went out. I guess the epic lighting and sounds brought by these guys were just a little too much for the venue to handle all at once. So the guys gracefully finished the last bit of the song a cappella, as if it were planned that way.

After a bit of scrambling to get the power back on, Smallpools decided to play their encore without amps, just keys, acoustic guitars, some hand percussion, and a room full of voices. They overcame this challenge without a hitch, giving The Social an intimate version of their smash hit, “Dreaming.” You could see it on the band members’ faces that they were bummed but they still overcame the imposition to give their fans something they will always remember; something they could never hear on the radio.

Smallpools Live Review and Concert Photos by Adam Fricke.

Adam Fricke - Professional Concert Photographer

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