Against the Current rides on the waves of fanfare

Since the last time they performed on our shores, American pop-rock band Against The Current still manages to draw a sizeable crowd.

One year on, the trio has become more confident and fine-tuned their live show at The Ground Theatre at *SCAPE to perfection. Singapore marks the second stop in their In Our Bones world tour.

Most acts are usually more at ease at their later stops of their tours, especially when there’s new material that will be performed for the first time. However, Against the Current was airtight from the beginning and barely faltered.

The three-piece band, which first debuted as a YouTube sensation, is made up of lead vocalist Chrissy Costanza, guitarist Dan Gow, and drummer Will Ferri.

They recently released their debut full-length studio album, In Our Bones in May, and went the extra mile to converse with the crowd, especially when they weren’t ready to dive into the next song immediately.

Before we were treated to a dose of Against The Current, spirited homegrown quintet The Summer State kick-started the night.

Their punchy 30-minute performance included set list staples like ‘I Do, I Don’t’ and ‘Love, That’s What They Call It These Days’, and they closed with their catchy new single ‘Enough’.

Up next, Against The Current blazed through their 17-song set, which included both throwbacks like ‘Infinity’, and newer tunes like ‘In Our Bones’ and ‘Wasteland’.

The intimate venue also gave Against the Current a chance to interact with the crowd of teenagers and the occasional middle-aged expatriate.

Frontwoman Chrissy Costanza led the pack and injected random humourous musings about what she thought about Singapore culture. “Why do you call it ‘carrot cake’ if it’s not a cake?” asked the 21-year-old singer-songwriter, with a confused expression.

During their acoustic segment, which saw them playing a mashup of Major Lazer’s ‘Cold Water’ and Justin Bieber’s ‘Love Yourself’, drummer Will Ferri even commented about the boisterous members of the audience as they kept shouting at them incomprehensibly.

“We have a couple of hecklers in the crowd tonight,” he said with a smug smile.

The encore, which included fan favourites ‘Dreaming Alone’ and ‘Gravity’ closed their performance with a bang.

Overall, the band lived up to expectations, being young and relentless. It was undeniably a night to remember.