It was not just another concert night out at the Santa Barbara Bowl when Young the Giant boldly took the stage on Friday, August 18. Instead, the show unfolded as a dynamic and dramatic return to touring action, a triumphal occasion after COVID interruptus and a celebration of a band — with roots going back to 2004 — which manages to be both somewhat adventurous and accessible.
Led by charismatic but relatable front man Sameer Gadhia, the concert felt epic, despite its falling shy of 90 minutes, part of a four-hour, three-act concert also featuring Rosa Linn and Milky Chance. Each band member was bedecked in a different color, Gadhia seizing the spotlight in white garb (like white-wearing Godhead John Lennon on the Abbey Road cover), and the stage set had the look of an elaborate and exotic, mirror-flecked parlor with Indian overtones (American-born Gadhia is of Indian heritage).
Interspersed with short, quasi-philosophical film segments tying in with the semi-cinematic nature of the band’s latest album, American Bollywood, the concert itself came equipped with a loosely narrative structure set into four acts — “Origins,” “Exile,” “Battle,” and “Denouement.” Off to the side of the band’s electro-rock-pop palette, a cellist and violinist were perched on a riser, although they served as window dressing — seen but rarely heard.