Lord Huron w/ Night Moves – First Avenue, Minneapolis (28 Jan 2014) concert review
|
Lord Huron/Night Moves Marquee
01/31/14 Detroit, MI Majestic Theatre
02/01/14 Toronto, ON Danforth Music Hall 02/02/14 Montreal, QC Le Cabaret Du Mile End 02/04/14 Boston, MA Royale Nightclub Boston 02/06/14 Washington, DC 9:30 Club 02/07/14 New York, NY Terminal 5 02/08/14 Philadelphia, PA Theatre / Living Arts 02/09/14 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theater 02/11/14 Saxapahaw, NC Haw River Ballroom 02/12/14 Asheville, NC Orange Peel 02/14/14 Birmingham, AL WorkPlay 02/15/14 New Orleans, LA Civic Theatre 02/17-02/18 Austin, TX Emo’s 02/19/14 Dallas, TX Trees 02/21/14 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre 02/22/14 Aspen, CO Belly Up Aspen 02/23/14 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge 02/25/14 San Francisco, CA Fillmore 02/26/14 Ventura, CA Ventura Theatre 02/27/14 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up Tavern 02/28-03/01 Los Angeles, CA Fonda Theatre All dates with Night Moves
|
Okemos, Michigan-born rising quintet Lord Huron and local openers Night Moves (not named after Michigan-native Bob Seger’s song, but still…) played to a full house at First Avenue’s Mainroom on a chilly, snowy Tuesday night.
Local band Night Moves, ably taking over the opening spot from the previously announced Night Beds, was literally feeling the Blues.
|
Micky Alfano and John Pelant
|
For the duration of their 40 min set, the band members (guitarist/vocalist John Pelant, bassist Micky Alfano, and multi-instrumentalist Mark Ritsema , with drummer Jared Isabella) were literally bathed in muted blue stage lights, which was mood evocative of their easy-going, slightly psychedelic 70s album rock-vibed sound.
Still promoting their debut, Colored Emotions (Domino Records), the hometown band will always get a great reception locally, but showed their abilities to go beyond that with gritty performances of the title track, first single ‘Headlights’, and ‘Country Queen’.
|
Night Moves
|
The band has a cosmic/country sound that looks forward with a tip of the hat to the past with their somewhat irregular song structures, in a way that more veteran acts would wear their influences, and belies the fact that they’re just getting started as a band.
What a difference a year makes for LA-based, Michigan-bred solo project, now band, Lord Huron. The five-piece led by Ben Schneider – guitar/ vocals, along with Mark Barry – percussion/vocals, Miguel Briseño – bass/percussion, Tom Renaud – guitar/vocals and Karl Kerfoot – guitar/vocals, was on tour and in town in Oct. 2012, as the opening act for Night Moves at the 7th St Entry for their record release show. The critical acclaim and word-of-mouth on the band has grown exponentially since, resulting in a packed, near sold-out show for their 72 min. performance.
The indie-folk quintet is supporting their debut full-length, Lonesome Dreams (IAMSOUND) and brings a Mumford and Sons-like bombast and Vampire Weekend-esque rhythms, with a pinch of Paul Simon/Peter Gabriel worldbeat made for bigger rooms, to their own unique take on modern folk.
|
Ben Schneider
|
Schneider admits to being a visualist as well, evident in setting the stage for their experience with a five-paneled silhouetted landscape backdrop and in-nature sound effects between songs, like crickets chirping and the beginning thunder of a storm rolling in.
‘Ends of the Earth’, the album’s opener, also opened their live set, lush in scope, with Fleet Foxes-like harmonies and Schneider howling falsetto, a la Jim James. Both ‘The Man Who Lives Forever’ and ‘We Went Wild’ (from their Into the Sun EP) had a near-Caribbean vibe, laid back and percussion filled, which pleased the groovers and nodding heads in the audience.
|
Superdudes abroad in the wilderness
|
Schneider’s harmonica on the dreamy ‘The Ghost on the Shore’ perfectly captured the mood of the album cover art- a dusty horsebacked rider, alone on an open midnight prairie ride. ‘Until the Night Turns’ revved up the tempo, then was downshifted by the delicate ‘Lullaby’, with the xylophone-tinged ‘Time to Run’ ending the main set with an exclamation point.
The two-song encore began with the building ‘Brother’ and ended with the percussion-gone-wild ‘The Stranger’; every band member banging on drums, tambourines, sticks, and whatever else was available at the end, with drummer Barry unleashing like he’d been holding it in all night.
Both bands were short on conversation; instead, letting their music do the talking, which was more than all right with the near-capacity crowd. And, both acts showed the polish and musicianship of those more seasoned and established, making them both worth keeping an eye on for future projects.
|
Lord Huron at First Avenue, Minneapolis (28 Jan 2014) |