Moon Taxi Are The "Champions" Of New Year's Eve January 6, 2019 21:39

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Moon Taxi closed out 2018 (and their Good as Gold Tour) with their ninth New Year’s Eve show and an arena debut at Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium. The hometown group was joined by special guests LUTHI and the Nashville vinyl-spinning duo Sparkle City Disco, known for their over-the-top dance parties. All of which have a contagious live energy that made for an non-stop fun night all the way through into the new year.

Speaking of sparkle, the funk explosion that is LUTHI took the stage between SCD sets donned in as many sequins as they could get on their bodies for the occasion. They warmed up the crowd with songs from their Stranger album released in 2018, and as they closed out their set with a cover of Daft Punk’s "One More Time," a sea of light up tambourines began to bounce in preparation for Moon Taxi to take everyone into 2019.

Moon Taxi delivered a night sprinkled with all your favorite songs from their albums old and new, including "Not Too Late," "Good as Gold," "Trouble" and "Two High" from their 2018 release Let the Record Play. There were also plenty of classics such as "Morocco," "River Water," and "Run Right Back." We also got a brand new song titled "Now’s The Time." (Bassist, Tommy Putnam told us there would be more new music coming our way in 2019!)

The countdown into 2019 was led by Tyler Ritter with an insane drum solo to an audio remix of "Eleanor Rigby" accompanied by an official countdown clock in the background. The guys, along with the LUTHI horns, remerged with 15 seconds left on the clock, and when it struck 12:00 AM, Trevor (Turndrup) shouted, “Happy New Year!” The band then launched into a rock version of "Auld Lang Syne" while balloons fell from the ceiling.

The New Year’s classic was followed by the tour’s namesake song, "Good as Gold" and rolled right into a timely cover medley of Queen’s "We Will Rock You," "Bohemian Rhapsody," and "We Are The Champions." Here you daw the crowd sing, or let’s be real, SHOUT, every. single. word, whilst in true Moon Taxi fashion, confetti poured into the air.

Everyone then threw their fingers into the sky when Moon Taxi ended the night, or morning I should say, with their hit single, "Two High," that featured Amber Woodhouse of LUTHI on sax and the Sparkle City Disco dancers, aka "Art of Chaos." The dancers then discoed their way back to the SPD booth while the disco duo of Jonas Stein and David Bermudez continued the 2019 party.

In addition to the amazing music, the overall production was nothing short of a spectacle. The Moon Taxi crew went above and beyond this year, with a mesmerizing combination of lighting, massive video walls, and disco balls. The band only has two dates listed for 2019 so far, but along with some new music on the way, I think it’s safe to say that we are all looking forward to more!

Watch a recap of Moon Taxi NYE's show here: