A Baby Baby live show is one of those rare musical events where an audience has the opportunity to become more then mere passive bystanders. From the very first wonderful blast of distortion, the band conveys an earnest energy that is largely absent from far too many concerts. Almost immediately, as guitarist and lead singer Fontez Brooks first wrenched his face into a snarl, the audience was forced into a whirlwind of breathless chants, pounding noise, and inescapable enthusiasm.
The core of Baby Baby’s sound follows a formula that is textbook rock and roll: driving chords propped up by loud drums and thumping bass lines. What makes Baby Baby interesting is the way in which they deliver that formula. Their melodies rely on very basic changes, which are made memorable by their simplicity and repetition. The indescribable energy of Baby Baby is what really turns their music into something different. Throughout the show, Brooks would pounce into the audience, frantically thrashing around with a perpetual wild-eyed stare. The show could almost double as a comedy set, as a good portion of the night was mostly the band rambling about nonsense, but in the best possible way. Baby Baby actively tries to make their audience feel as if they’re their friends rather than a group of assembled strangers.
The fierceness of Baby Bay also has a way of making some of their songs sloppy and a little bit unintelligible, but this was hardly noticeable with everyone jumping and being joyfully shoved around. When Baby Baby came on for their encore, led by their signature song “Fire,” the combined energy of the band and the audience reached a tipping point and the song turned into more of a brawl as half of the band began to hang off the ceiling, and the crowd reached out their sweaty hands to embrace them. The combination of Baby Baby’s relentless intensity and natural warmth has the potential to turn any performance from a forgettable concert into a frenzied union.