S&S Presents
Plain White T's
Fired Up Tour
Pollyanna
Sunday, February 18 2024
7:00 PM MST
241 South 500 East
Salt Lake City
UT,
84102
Songs typically tell stories, but every once in a while, they also harbor characters as lively as anyone on the big screen or as nuanced and complex as the protagonist of your favorite novel. A fair share of unforgettable people populate the catalog of Plain White Tās. You can practically see the girl in "Rhythm of Love" who "rises up like the tide," the feisty young lady who's "a legend in the late-night scene" on "Natural Disaster," or the āBonnieā who inspired "Bonnie I Want You." And, of course, who can forget that eternal muse who moved to the Big Apple in "Hey there Delilah?" During 2023, the multiplatinum two-time GRAMMYĀ® Award-nominated band introduce a bevy of new songs (and friends) for us to fall in love with... āAll of the songs are about different moments, girls, or experiences,ā Tom notes. āIn reality, life is just a bunch of friends and situations. Love and people come and go. Over the course of the bandās history, Iāve taken those memories and put them into songs. When you write a song, youāre just trying to capture a
moment. If listeners connect it to their own lives and stories, thereās nothing better.ā Formed in 1997, the Chicago, IL groupāTom Higgenson [vocals], Tim Lopez [lead guitar, vocals], Mike Retondo [bass], and DeāMar Hamilton [drums]ā occupy their own curious corner of popular culture. They dropped back-to-back gold certified albumsāAll That We Needed (2005) and Every Second Counts (2006)āand enraptured audiences with timeless hits, including the platinum "Rhythm of Love," double-platinum ā1,2,3,4ā and quadruple-platinum "Hey There Delilah." The latter made history as "the first song without drums to vault to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100" in addition to garnering two 2008 GRAMMYĀ® Award
nominations in the categories of āSong of the Yearā and āBest Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.ā The guys attracted an enthusiastic global fan base over the course of eight full-length albums and countless sold-out shows. In 2018, they reached another creative high watermark with Parallel Universe. Met with critical acclaim, Billboard raved, āPlain White Tās have been turned completely inside out but are just as strong as ever.ā Throughout 2021 and 2022, the band wrote and recorded in earnest, crisscrossing the country between Nashville, Chicago, California, and Austin. Taking their time, they tapped into the essence of Plain White Tās. āWe were trying to hark back to sounds weāve used in the past with a freshness,ā Tom goes on. āThis one came from a really authentic place of understanding who we are and what we do. Iām more excited than Iāve been in a long time. As musicians, weāre always trying to outdo ourselves or go somewhere we havenāt gone before. Somehow, we figured out how to go to a fresh spot and still sound like Plain White Tās.ā The first single āSpaghetti Tattooā evokes this spirit through eloquent songcraft with sparse accompaniment. Gentle acoustic guitar brushes up against Tomās delicate delivery as he recounts a date play-by-play from a series of DMās to āConversations about a spaghetti tattoo on your armā to goodbyes outside of the restaurant. It culminates on the breezy chorus, āDonāt know where itās gonna go, but it feels good not to know.ā āItās one of the most straightforward story songs of the bunch,ā the frontman goes on. āI took some liberties, because I donāt think her favorite movie was Dumb & Dumber, but I need it to rhyme with āThe Drummerā,ā he laughs. āShe did breakup with a drummer. After a breakup, she legally changed her middle name to āSpaghettiā and got the tattoo. It was the funniest fun fact on a first date, so I had to put it in a song.ā A laidback beat underscores an unexpected source of inspiration on the chantable āIām Fired Up.ā āI was listening to a ton of hyperpop with my son,ā recalls Tom. āThe song reflects the feeling of coming alive again after the last two years, but doing it in a nonchalant way. You donāt want to get too excited, because weāre still kind of uncertain, but Iām feeling pretty good. The hyperpop kicked me in the ass.ā Mike adds, āIt has such a loose vocal thing going on. For the last 20 years, pop music has been so autotuned. To have this be so loose was refreshing. I love it!ā Co-written with Lil Aaron [Lizzo, Demi Lovato, Kim Petras], āYou Plus Meā hinges on an instantly irresistible refrain, "Weāre the perfect problem baby, you plus me.ā Tom reveals, āIt just tells a cute romantic story. Itās
where a lot of our strengths have been in the past. For a while, I strayed away from it, but part of this chapter was getting back to who we were. After these last couple years, Iām also ready to put myself out there and be vulnerable.ā āIt couldāve been on the Juno Soundtrack if we wrote it 15 years ago,ā laughs Mike.
Then, thereās āGirl From Pasadena.ā Youāll feel like youāre in the car with Tom driving from Malibu to meet her⦠āItās about a girl Iāve been hanging out with from Pasadena,ā he says. āItās an homage to being excited about a girl again. She helped awaken all of these great feelings inside of me Iāve been missing.ā
āHappyā glides along on a percussive bounce as it glues bright lyrics to an understated minor chord melody. āIt admits, āIām down sometimes, and I donāt want to beā,ā Tom states. āI want to do things that make me happy like cruise down PCH, hang out with friends, and call the girl who just gave me her number. Itās an overwhelmingly positive song, but it feels a little sad because of the music. So, maybe Iām not quite happy yet, but Iām giving it my best shot.ā In the end, Plain White Tās continue to welcome everyone into a wonderful world without comparison. āThis band is my whole life,ā Mike leaves off. āI have my family, and I have the Tās.ā āItās the same for me,ā Tom concurs. āObviously, weāre a family too. Weāve been together as a band for 26 years. Itās our identity, joy, passion, and everything. We love this music as much as ever, and we canāt wait for you to hear it.ā
URBAN LOUNGE VENUE RULES
* No weapons of any kind.
* No outside beverages.
* No drugs or illicit substances.
* No smoking inside the venue.
* No unauthorized/unlicensed vending, soliciting, handbills, sampling, or giveaways.
* All served beverages must remain inside the venue and back patio area.
* No flash photography.
* No moshing, crowd-surfing, or stage diving.
* No pets allowed.
* No backpacks or large bags. Small purses and fanny packs allowed but subject to search.
* Security reserves the right to search bags, perform pat-down checks, and refuse/revoke entry at their discretion. These reasons include intoxication, disturbing hygiene, engaging in hate speech, belligerent or noncompliant behavior, acts or threats of violence, disturbing other guests, etc.
- All valid tickets are sold via 24tix.com at the official ticketing link or 24tix Fan Marketplace. Any tickets resold through a third party platform such as StubHub, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, and others are subject to being void without a refund.
- No weapons of any kind.
- No outside beverages.
- No drugs or illicit substances.
- No smoking inside the venue.
- No unauthorized/unlicensed vending, soliciting, handbills, sampling, or giveaways.
- All served beverages must remain inside the venue and back patio area.
- No flash photography. Non-professional, point & shoot cameras are allowed (attached lenses must be smaller than 2 inches) unless otherwise stated. Professional cameras must be approved by venue and artist management before the show.
- No moshing, crowd-surfing, or stage diving.
- No pets allowed.
- No backpacks or large bags. Small purses and fanny packs allowed but subject to search.
- Security reserves the right to search bags, perform pat-down checks, and refuse/revoke entry at their discretion. These reasons include intoxication, disturbing hygiene, engaging in hate speech, belligerent or noncompliant behavior, acts or threats of violence, disturbing other guests, etc.