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Fiancé brings Newark feel to Firefly

Rob Kalesse/Delaware Public Media

Before the five members of Fiancé took the Forest Stage Friday afternoon at Firefly Music Festival, there was a distinct New Castle County aura about the crowd. Where Cypher Clique had its own Dover contingent the night before, Fiancé definitely had a Newark following ready to cheer them on.
When the quintet stepped on stage for a quick soundcheck at 12:15 p.m., the catcalls and shout-outs began.

"Brian, lend me a smoke!" 

"Hey Andrew, smile, buddy!"

"Yoder or bust! Newark, Del-a-ware!"

Friends and family felt right at home, almost like their favorite band was playing a show at Deer Park or Homegrown on Main Street. Brian Bruce tightened his drum set, Tyler Yoder, Andrew Fusca and Jeff Manuel tuned their guitars, and Sam Nobles tickled the ivories on his keyboard. 

"We have a lot of friends and family here, and it definitely showed up early," said Bruce. "I could hear my Mom screaming and cheering, and I know the other guys' moms are here as well. It felt like we knew everyone in the crowd."

The indie pop/shoegaze quintet got their set started at 12:30 p.m. with a very chill version of their song, "Era," which seemed the perfect entry for a Firefly audience that was still waking up.

The next two tracks, "Wildlings," and "Reluctant," followed the same style. Considering most of the audience was either hungover from the night before or saddling up for a long day ahead, it was a good game plan.

"I can't say for certain that we planned it that way, and I hope some day we have the kind of set list that gets us a 10 p.m. slot for more money," said Bruce, sweating through his T-shirt as temperatures reached the mid-80s. "But yeah, I guess our music does fit for opening things up on the second day."

With "Climb the Stairs," Fiancé ratcheted up the tempo a few notches, with Fusca's vocals sounding very reminiscent of pop legend Morrissey, who would be playing the Firefly Stage later in the day.

For a few songs early on in the set, the musically ambidextrous Nobles switched from playing the keyboard to the guitar, all the while remaining in his seat. 

The Newark native, along with Bruce and Fusca, played Firefly last year with alt-rock band Mean Lady. Nobles commented before Fiancé's set that playing an early to mid-day set always makes musicians wonder about the crowd. Bruce shared his thoughts on comparing 2014 to 2015.

"This set was about the same time as we played last year with Mean Lady," said Bruce. "Last year, we got to play [lead vocalist] Katie's [Dill] songs, which are great. But this year, we got to play our own songs, which is always better."

Brianna Hansen of Mobius New Media in Wilmington suggested to festival organizers that Fiancé be one of the bands to play Firefly in 2015.  She saw the three band members play with Mean Lady last year and  returned to see them on stage again at the event this year.

"Fiancé gave us a tight, beautiful performance to ease into a great Friday line-up," said Hansen. "I loved seeing the strong Delaware support in the crowd for such a promising act."

As the set rolled on, clouds passed overhead and a nice breeze picked up. The somewhat introverted continually thanked the crowd after each song, seemingly humbled by the experience.

Fiancé rounded out their set with "Ivy," and "Sleeping Over," and wrapped things up with a debut of "Empty Room," from their forthcoming untitled album, due out this fall.

Fusca had said before the performance that he was really looking forward to testing the waters with "Empty Room," a track about a recent move he made, leaving his roommates of 5 years to move in with his girlfriend.

The crowd swayed with each beat and gave the fellas a rousing applause as Fiancé finished their Firefly set from the Forest Stage. Fusca signed off, saying, "Thank you, Delaware, and all you guys for coming out to watch us play. This is awesome, and it really means a lot to us."

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