Grouplove on the "Boos Cruise"

The expansive indie rock of Grouplove spilled over the brightly lit San Diego Bay as the audience aboard the Hornblower kicked Halloween weekend into high gear. The band, which was formed during an artists' residency on the island of Crete, was an excellent selection for the drunken revelry of 91X's annual “Boos Cruise.” Warm, dance-friendly fodder from their debut record Never Trust a Happy Song vied for the deck's attention with scantily clad twentysomethings desperately clinging to buckets of lukewarm ale.

There is a special kind of energy in the air for a Halloween show on a moving vessel that Grouplove attacked from just the right angle. With the iconic downtown skyline and Coronado bridge as a backdrop, the five-piece orchestra had the audience in sing-along mode for the manic pop of "Tongue Tied" and "Lovely Cup." The crisp vocal interplay between frontman Christian Zucconi and his sidekick Hannah Hooper, both sporting Day of the Dead facepaint, provided the melodic framework for a robust soundscape. Grouplove kept their hour-long set upbeat and poignant, finishing things off with the cascading brilliance of "Colours," their breakout hit receiving play everywhere from local radio to video game soundtracks.

• Concert: Grouplove
• Date: October 28
• Venue: Hornblower
• Seats: General