The Lone Bellow w/ Mt. Joy at Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis (15 Oct 2017) (Updated)

Another captivating show, a few spontaneous pop sing-alongs, and a decision on who made the best Batman—

That was the scenario as alt-country trio The Lone Bellow returned to town, playing a crowded Fine Line Music Café in downtown Minneapolis.   

Los Angeles by way of Philadelphia alt-folk-rockers Mt. Joy opened the evening with a forty-five minute set of new songs that properly introduced the new band, and gave these many won-over fans a chance to hear the tracks, soon to appear on their upcoming debut. 

Matt Quinn (vocals/guitar) and Sam Cooper (guitar) met in high school and started performing songs together over a dozen years ago, reuniting in LA to record four songs last year in their producer’s living room (joined later on by Michael Byrnes-bass, Sotiris Eliopoulos-drums, and Terrance Mack-keys to form a five-piece live act). 

Influenced by many classic ‘70’s jam acts, the whistling ‘Cardinal’ lyrically reminds to take the time to notice the everyday beauty around us, ‘Uke Song’ was played with “tiny guitar” as Quinn called it, and the uplifting and set-closing ‘Sheep’ actually had the most socially-biting lyrics, inspired by the Freddie Grey unrest- “When there is blood on the streets of Baltimore, people getting ready for a long war, maybe I was born in the wrong skin but those sheep are rolling in the mud again.”

Formerly based in Brooklyn, The Lone Bellow made the move to Nashville last year and vocalist Zach Williams now certainly looks the part, complete with bristly beard and cowboy hat.  What hasn’t changed is the band’s passion, heartfelt songs, and entrancing live performance, as evidenced in their hundred-minute headlining set, in support of their third studio album Walk Into a Storm (Descendant Records/ Sony Music Masterworks).

Williams and bandmates Brian Elmquist and Kanene Pipkin (with husband Jason on bass/keys and drummer Rico) barnstormed in from the beginning, opening with a new album track, then into 2013’s ‘The One You Should’ve Let Go’ towards the end of which, Williams caught his breath to compare things (somehow randomly) to “the best Batman movie” starring Michael Keaton, which in turn got Elmquist and Pipkin to segue into Seal’s ‘Kiss from a Rose’.

Williams went into Adele’s ‘Hello’ at the end of ‘Between the Lines’ as way of greeting the crowd, then Elmquist took over vocals for the new ‘Long Way to Go’. “Sorry about this hat, guys” Williams laughingly apologized, vamping a verse of Kid Rock’s ‘Cowboy’ as he took it off, already sweating through it.

Pipkin then took the lead for the new album’s ‘Feather’, an achingly soulful stomper with Williams doing his best Eddie-Murphy-as-James-Brown after a searing ‘Georgia Will’, “too hot in the hot tub…make ya sweat!”

A mid-set acoustic set, with the trio huddled around a single mic, hushed the enraptured crowd as lights dimmed and ears focused on their formidable harmonies (working in Seal ‘Crazy’ , John Michael Montgomery ‘I Swear’, and Bryan Adams ‘Everything I Do’ snippets as well, with the audience joining in). 

‘Green Eyes and a Heart of Gold’ had everyone joyously clapping and stomping along, with a couple of band’s kids out front helping sing lead (“…now go to bed!” Williams said, finishing) and musical redemption was achieved with the set-closing ‘Then Came the Morning’ and new single, ‘Time’s Always Leaving’.

The encore started gently with ‘Tree to Grow’, the trio’s masterful group voices on display as they sang, “The tree I’ll grow to let you know, my love is older than my soul” and opener Mt. Joy came back on stage, with everyone arm-in-arm to sing an acoustic cover of Tom Petty’s ‘Wildflowers’ to close the evening.

As the last show of this current tour leg, The Lone Bellow once again impressed with their mix of acoustic and electric songs that came across more even more passionate and urgent live, than on record- a walk into this kind of musical storm is more than recommended to witness as they continue their tour next month.