Young the Giant brings energy, down-to-earth nature to shows

Anti-bully song picked up by 'Glee'

The band Young The Giant began its headlining tour Feb. 8.

DETROIT -- It was as if Sameer Gadhia took a cue from the lyrics to "My Body" as he belted out the final song of the night.

"My body tells me no, but I won't quit, cause I want more, cause I want more."

The 22-year-old frontman of Young the Giant shimmied his way to the middle of the stage at The Majestic Theatre and leaned in to the sold-out crowd Tuesday. Caked with sweat and gazing at concertgoers with the same mischievous grin he had flashed all night, Gadhia leapt into the crowd without missing a note.

Young the Giant hopes to bring that same boyish bravado and showmanship to each performance on their tour, which runs through April.

"It's been long and arduous, but it's been totally worth it. We've seen that in all the shows. They are all sold out," Gadhia said in a phone interview with The Blade before the show. "It's great to see our hard work is paying off a little bit."

Young the Giant began its headlining tour Feb. 8 and plays almost every other night across North America. Performances at festivals such as Bonnaroo are scheduled this summer.

The band's self-titled debut album debuted digitally in October, 2010, and was released in the United States in January of last year. One of the album's biggest hits, "Cough Syrup," was featured on Glee late last month and the song peaked at No. 3 on the U.S. alternative chart.

"When [the show's producers] first came to us, we were a little bit confused," drummer/vocalist Francois Comtois said in a phone interview. "We don't really watch that much TV in general, and we weren't that familiar with Glee."

Everyone was on board with using the song in the hit Fox show once they realized the episode focused on bullying, Comtois said.

"Education is definitely a huge thing for us, and bullying is obviously a huge problem in the educational system," the 23-year-old said. "We were happy to be able to lend something to that message."

The band also posted a video on its Web site encouraging victims of bullying or people considering suicide to reach out for help.

The band has a down-to-earth nature, which was on full display during the concert. Fans brought shots and drinks to the stage, which were passed around and consumed by the members of the quintet. At one point, Gadhia even paused to ask a fan which band member a drink was meant for.

"It's all about the live atmosphere and the play between the audience and us," said Gadhia, who was born in Ann Arbor and was raised in Michigan until he was 7 years old.

The next album is in the works and the band spent the months prior to the tour living in a Los Angeles mansion working on its sound.

"The first record embodies the conception of the band up until the last day in the studio," he said. "The second record is crunch time. You don't have a lot of time to spread around. We've been waiting for this for a long time now.

"We just moved out of that house to be on the road. We're going to live in a fourth house together in June and crank it out. We're obviously looking to test the boundaries of what we know and who we are as musicians and as a group."

The first record incorporated pop, folk, and an upbeat sound. Gadhia said the sophomore record would have a darker, rawer quality but wouldn't stray too far from Young the Giant's roots.

"We're looking for something a little bit more rough around the edges and something a little bit more bold, which was the original intent on the first album," he said. "We're going to see what our fans think about it."

Contact Kris Turner at kturner@theblade.com or 419-724-6103.