The Head and the Heart at First Avenue, Minneapolis (10/27/13)

QUIET LIFE

Opening up for this sold-out folk show were Quiet Life, from Portland. I got the impression that the band are close friends with The Head and the Heart and they were really grateful to be sharing the stage with the headliner.



The band had a very brief thirty minute set with about six songs, starting with “Devil’s Kin”, from their latest album Wild Pack, and ending with “Shaky Hands”, which I think I heard was a new song, written about a friend’s divorce.
Highlight of their set was “Messin’ Around”, mostly thanks to the organ-playing and catchy (easy to remember) chorus.

THAO & THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN

Since we last saw Thao Nguyen, she was at the Cedar earlier in 2013. This truncated set featured a lot of new songs, taken from her latest release We the Common, including “Holy Roller” and “Every Body”. The new material, as I discovered it hearing it live, is more aggressive than her folk songs from her previous two albums.



Although the set was shorter, Thao display her talent for all things strings: jumping from guitar to acoustic to banjo to steel guitar. It was fun to watch the transitions.



Prior to The Head and the Heart taking the stage, whoever was manning the music was playing nothing but Velvet Underground songs. It was a fitting tribute to Lou Reed, who passed away that day.



Then the intro music of “Springtime” was played on the speakers and suddenly The Head and the Heart launched into “Summertime”, featuring
Charity Thielen on lead vocals. You soon discovered that vocals were shared among the trinity of Charity, Josiah, and Jonathan. And, in fact, the three of them does a lot of tight harmony on many of their songs.



As you can see from their setlist, about half the songs are from their latest album Let’s Be Still, including “Summertime”,
“Homecoming Heroes”, “Shake”, “Cruel”, and “Josh McBride”. You could always tell which songs were from the debut self-titled album because they usually had the audience singing along, in particular the set closer “Rivers and Roads”.



Encore were “These Days Are Numbered” (featuring Charity solo), “Gone”, and “Down in the Valley”. After seeing how both the Head and the Heart shows sold out, singer Jonathan Russell just could not believe that all these fans came together. “You’re all strangers in one room,” Russell said, “It’s crazy.” You get the feeling that the band also agree that bringing people together, this is what they are about.

The Head and the Heart’s latest album, Let’s Be Still, is out now on Sub Pop Records. The band has been selling out all their double shows, so if you don’t have a ticket now, you may be out of luck. Maybe you could grab a ticket early on the next tour?

Their remaining tour dates:

10.28.13 | Madison, WI | Orpheum Theater *+ 10.29.13 | Royal Oak, MI | Royal Oak Music*+ 10.31.13 | Toronto, ON | Danforth Music Hall *+ 11.01.13 | Boston, MA | The Royale * 11.02.13 | Boston, MA | The Royale * 11.04.13 | Washington, DC | 9:30 Club *+ 11.05.13 | New York, NY | Terminal 5 *+ 11.06.13 | New York, NY | Webster Hall *+ 11.08.13 | Philadelphia, PA | Union Transfer *+ 11.09.13 | Philadelphia, PA | Union Transfer *+ 11.10.13 | Raleigh, NC | Ritz *+ 11.12.13 | Atlanta, GA | The Buckhead *+ 11.13.13 | New Orleans, LA | Tipitina’s *+ 11.14.13 | Houston, TX | Warehouse Live *+

11.15.13 | Dallas, TX | Southside Ballroom ^+ 11.16.13 | Austin, TX | Stubb’s ^+ 11.17.13 | Austin, TX | Stubb’s + 12.02.13 | Vancouver, Bc | Commodore Ballroom ^ 12.03.13 | Seattle, WA | Key Arena ! 12.05.13 | Oakland, CA | Fox Theatre^ 12.07.13 | Los Angeles, CA | The Wiltern ^ 12.10.13 | Los Angeles, CA| The Wiltern ^ 12.12.13 | Denver, CO | Ogden Theatre ^* 12.13.13 | Denver, CO | Ogden Theatre ^* 12.14.13 | Kansas City, MO | Midland Theater * = Thao & The Get Down Stay Down + = Quiet Life