Pouring rain and muddy grounds didn’t squash the turnout to 104.3 The Shark’s fall-themed Shark After Dark event at Coconut Grove’s Regatta Park on Oct. 20.
The park, bordering Biscayne Bay, hosts Coconut Grove’s annual Pumpkin Patch Festival, held this year on Oct. 20 and 21, so carnival rides, food and beverage vendors and, of course, a pumpkin patch were already set up in preparation for the event the following day.
Concertgoers waited out a series of downpours — the skies first opened with the doors at 7 p.m. — determined not to let a little water stand in the way of some good music.
“The rain put a damper on the evening, but the concert was fantastic,” senior Vanessa Baillie said.
Unfortunately, the weather caused delays and shortened sets. The Heirs, an indie-pop band from Los Angeles, didn’t take the stage until 7:45 p.m., when the second band, Welshly Arms, was slated to begin its set. Each band played only four or five songs, with Welshly Arms’ popular single “Legendary” garnering an enthusiastic response from the drenched audience.
By the time main act Walk The Moon took the stage, it was already 9:30 p.m. The event’s hard end time capped all performances at 10 p.m., which didn’t leave the band much time to “Shut Up and Dance,” but the performers made the most of their 35-minute set.
They kicked off with a WTM tradition; as they took the stage, The Lion King’s “The Circle of Life” sounded through the speakers, followed by the opening synthesizer notes of “Up 2 U,” a heavier song off of 2014’s “Talking Is Hard,” the band’s second studio EP.
The indie-rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, hasn’t played a Miami show in two years, when they stopped at the Fillmore in Miami Beach on the second leg of their “Talking Is Hard” tour in October 2015. They seemed to miss the Magic City as much as the Magic City missed them.
“Miami: you were amazing tonight. Thank you for your energy,” the band tweeted after the show.
Fans got to hear “Lisa Baby” – and its killer guitar riff – off the self-titled debut LP, as well as several songs off “Talking Is Hard,” including high-energy “Work This Body” and “Different Colors,” which promotes inclusivity.
The band also played its two most recent singles, both off upcoming album “What If Nothing,” releasing Nov. 10. “One Foot” is a synth-heavy, sing-along song with beats reminiscent of its “Tightrope” EP’s “anywayican.” “Headphones” is a bass-heavy track with nods to an album that only OG Walk The Moon fans would know: the unreleased “The Other Side: B-Sides and Rarities.”
Overall, the show was worth the soggy shoes. The Shark’s next event, Sharkwrecked at Riptide Music Festival, will be held Dec. 2 and 3 on Ft. Lauderdale Beach — hopefully not underwater.