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Setlist
Tour Dates
11/06/13 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
11/07/13 Columbus, OH Basement 11/10/13 St. Louis, MO Old Rock House 11/11/13 Bloomington, IN Bluebird Nightclub 11/12/13 Cincinnati, OH 20th Century Theatre 11/14/13 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer 11/15/13 Baltimore, MD Baltimore Soundstage 11/16/13 Washington, DC Sixth & I 11/20/13 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club 11/21/13 Buffalo, NY Tralf Music Hall 11/22/13 Detroit, MI Magic Stick 11/24/13 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom 12/01/13 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater 12/04/13 Salt Lake City, UT The State Room 12/06/13 Vancouver, BC Electric Owl 12/08/13 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater 12/10/13 San Francisco, CA Independent 12/11/13 West Hollywood, CA Troubadour Read More
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How hard does The Lone Bellow vocalist/guitarist Zach Williams work? He was pooled in sweat, red-faced with blood vessels bulging, out of breath, and broke a string… and that was just after the first two songs.
The Brooklynized country trio (Williams along with Brian Elmquist - guitar, vocals and Kanene Donehey Pipkin - mandolin, vocals and touring with husband Jason Pipkin - banjo/bass, Brian Griffin - drums) finally played to an enthusiastic Twin Cities crowd at Mill City Nights in a complimentary performance co-sponsored by Paste Magazine (one of the band’s earliest supporters) and somewhat inexplicably, an insurance company.
After a few previously scheduled gigs were postponed or re-routed (though as a result, the band stayed in town, but didn’t play over July 4th weekend) and spring opening stints for Dwight Yoakam and Robert Plant, their spitfire 90 min. set turned out to be worth the wait.
Locals Sleep Study got the evening started with 35 min. of retro power pop with slight UK influences, including singles ‘Flower Girl’ and ‘Peace & Letting Go’, and even worked in a novel cover of Tears for Fears’ ‘Head over Heels’ (though I was wishing TFF’s ‘Broken’ outro followed it).
The Lone Bellow had a busy day before their evening show - radio station appearances and a generous 35 min. afternoon in-store session at local record shop The Electric Fetus. The band arrived before their guitars did, causing a short delay, but the unscripted laid-back set featured tracks from their debut full-length (on Descendent/Sony BMG), some audience Q + A, and a cover of John Prine’s ‘Angel from Montgomery’.
Their 90 min. evening set began with the appropriately titled’ You Can Be all Kinds of Emotional’, a delicate song that builds to crash like thunder, then becomes feather light again towards the end. Harmonies were on full display for singles ‘ You Never Need Nobody’ and the album’s opener, ‘Green Eyes and a Heart of Gold’, making me wonder if they hone their vocal synchronicities on their tour bus, driving empty stretches of highways between cities, making a soundtrack for each dark ribbon of road.
The set demanded your attention, songs often going from a hush to full band volume, and most of the young audience (and insurance agents ensconced in the balcony) compiled, sang along, and clapped in time; even slow dancing on the floor upon the band’s suggestion. The revelation as each took turns singing lead, is that all three are more than ample singers and could easily carry another band themselves if they wanted to. Pipkin, in particular, had the just-right amount of melody and twang to her voice, to songs like ‘Button’, which called for an unfettered, wailing blues stomp vocal.
Late in the set, the band reprised Prine’s ‘Angel from Montgomery’ prompting a crowd sing-a-long and finished strongly with ‘Teach Me to Know’, each of the trio repeating “Carried away, carried away” in perfect unison. Similar in Americana sound to The Civil Wars (which has the same producer), Lumineers, and The Avett Brothers, The Lone Bellow proved on this night that it was no accident Billboard magazine put the band on its “10 Artists to Watch in 2013” list. Expect bigger things ahead.
The Brooklynized country trio (Williams along with Brian Elmquist - guitar, vocals and Kanene Donehey Pipkin - mandolin, vocals and touring with husband Jason Pipkin - banjo/bass, Brian Griffin - drums) finally played to an enthusiastic Twin Cities crowd at Mill City Nights in a complimentary performance co-sponsored by Paste Magazine (one of the band’s earliest supporters) and somewhat inexplicably, an insurance company.
After a few previously scheduled gigs were postponed or re-routed (though as a result, the band stayed in town, but didn’t play over July 4th weekend) and spring opening stints for Dwight Yoakam and Robert Plant, their spitfire 90 min. set turned out to be worth the wait.
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SLEEP STUDY
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The Lone Bellow at the Electric Fetus
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Their 90 min. evening set began with the appropriately titled’ You Can Be all Kinds of Emotional’, a delicate song that builds to crash like thunder, then becomes feather light again towards the end. Harmonies were on full display for singles ‘ You Never Need Nobody’ and the album’s opener, ‘Green Eyes and a Heart of Gold’, making me wonder if they hone their vocal synchronicities on their tour bus, driving empty stretches of highways between cities, making a soundtrack for each dark ribbon of road.
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Kanene Donehey Pipkin
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Late in the set, the band reprised Prine’s ‘Angel from Montgomery’ prompting a crowd sing-a-long and finished strongly with ‘Teach Me to Know’, each of the trio repeating “Carried away, carried away” in perfect unison. Similar in Americana sound to The Civil Wars (which has the same producer), Lumineers, and The Avett Brothers, The Lone Bellow proved on this night that it was no accident Billboard magazine put the band on its “10 Artists to Watch in 2013” list. Expect bigger things ahead.
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The Lone Bellow at Mill City Nights, Minneapolis (10/29/13) |
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