The Fox Theatre, an Atlanta icon known for its ballets, operas and off-Broadway shows, was a suspicious choice for the on-your-feet, stomp and holler concert expected of a band like Caamp.
If a concert depends on its venue, Caamp is the type of band to depend on its audience. Lead singer Taylor Meier was equally surprised to see the Friday night crowd up on their feet in between rows of auditorium seating, adding that the band would have to make a few changes for the rowdy “Caampers.”
The Ohio-born band was opened by TOLEDO, notably not from Toledo, Ohio. The indie-rock duo played a few songs as the crowd filled in, warming up the massive auditorium for what was to come. They also announced that they would be back in Atlanta soon to play a show of their own at the Masquerade in November.
As the lights somberly came down, Meier, perhaps expecting a bit more of a laid-back sitting-show, kicked off with “All My Lonesome” from the band’s album “Lavender Days,” a slow and heartfelt tune with an easy guitar. Joined onstage by fellow singer and banjoist Evan Westfall, bass player Matt Vinson, keyboardist Joseph Kavalec and drummer Nicholas Falk, the group cruised through a few more slower songs like “Wolf Song” and “Apple Tree Blues.”
Caamp hit the road again after a three year hiatus in late May before releasing their fourth album “Copper Changes Color” in June. After a long break from the road and studio, Caamp’s 2025 North American Tour seems to reintroduce Caamp to the world, playing songs from their first three albums “Caamp,” “By and By” and “Lavender Days” and only playing four songs from their new album out of a 21 song set.
As the crowd sang along, Meier, who seemed slightly surprised, noted how alive the audience was, adding that the crowd in the show from the night before in Nashville had been a bunch of “mannequins.” Shifting away from their slower set, the following ones featured “Porchswing,” “I keep Going,” “Millions” and “See The World.”
Slowing the show down once more, Meier took a seat on the ornately decorated stage next to a bottle of wine and his bright red solo cup to sing “Send the Fisherman,” concert special “There She Goes,” “Shade,” “Light” and “Mistakes” before returning to center stage for “No Sleep.”
Meier knew exactly how to make Peach State fans happy, first throwing down a horns down sign as a nod to fans of a certain football team from Athens, right before strumming into “Peach Fuzz” and “Just Wonderin.”
High off of “Peach Fuzz,” the band jumped into “Walking on a Dream,” an Empire of the Sun cover. It was an unexpected turn into the last few songs of the night but evidently a favorite to perform f as the band jumped and skipped around the stage, keeping the energy strong into “Going to the Country.”
And to bring it all home; “Y’all have been good tonight,” Meier said almost deviously as Westfall played the iconic opening banjo tune of “26” and launched into one of the band’s most popular songs, “All the Debts I Owe.”
As the band made a silent and unsatisfying exit from the stage, the crowd erupted into “One more song” chants before the group came skipping back out to take a shot together before playing their 2016 hit “Vagabond” and “Officer of Love.” The show fully reintroduced the sound of Caamp to the most iconic theater in Atlanta.