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Lucius 2014 Tour
Poster
Setlist
Tour Dates
04/05: Brussels, BE @ Botanique (Rotonde)
04/08: Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso (upstairs) 04/13: Utretcht, NL @ Festival Tweetakt 04/16: London, UK @ Oslo 04/18: Manchester, UK @ Night & Day Café 04/19: Dublin, IE @ The Workmans Club 04/20: Glasgow, UK @ Stereo 05/06: Columbia, MO @ The Blue Note* 05/07: Louisville, KY @ Mercury Ballroom* 05/08: Covington, KY @ Madison Theater* 05/10: Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room* 05/12: Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works* 05/13: Chattanooga, TN @ Track 29* 05/14: Charleston, SC @ Music Farm* 05/15: Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre* 05/16: Jacksonville, FL @ Ponte Vedra Concert* 05/19: Charlotte, NC @ Fillmore* 05/20: Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel* 05/21 + 05/22: Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club* 05/28: Kalamazoo, MI @ Kalamazoo Theatre^ 05/29: Cleveland, OH @ Performance Arts ^ 05/30: Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE^ 06/02: Richmond, VA @ The National^ 06/04: Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live^ 06/05: Hunter Mountain, NY @ Mountain Jam 06/06: Randall’s Island, NY @ Governors Ball 06/21: Dover, DE @ Firefly Festival * Supporting Tegan and Sara ^ supporting The Head and the Heart Read More
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As far as Twitter names go, the one that Brooklyn five-piece buzz band Lucius uses is more than appropriate for the hundreds that braved the elements and their own personal safety, to see the band perform in Minneapolis at the Cedar Cultural Center.
“I Love Lucius” (the band’s Twitter handle) was definitely the pervasive feeling of the full crowd that fought through nearly a foot of snow falling and parking/blizzard warnings, to see one of the buzziest indie bands going currently.
The evening got started cheekily with a non-pretentious, entertaining set from Boston-based You Won’t, supporting their debut, Skeptic Goodbye (Old Flame Records). The duo of Josh Arnoudse and Raky Sastri proved their musical dexterity, switching between normal and not-so-normal instruments, Arnoudse even crooning into what looked like a vacuum hose for a Bessie Smith-like cover of ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love With You’.
Enthusiastically unorthodox begins to describe them, as songs like ‘Television’ and the somewhat somber 'Three Car Garage' were the fairly standard guitar/drum combo, while others featured glockenspiel, a harmonium, and a musical saw. A unique duo, to say the least…
The stylish Lucius then took the stage; leads Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig dressed identically with backing men, Dan Molad, Peter Lalish, and Andrew Burri, also dressed in tandem in horizontal striped shirts and dark jackets.
The band bravely began their 60 minute set with a cover of The Kinks’ 1970 non-hit ‘Strangers’ and its opening line, “Where are you going I don't mind / I've killed my world and I've killed my time”, though any dourness would soon wash away.
Both women manned keyboards and faced each other in front of a profiled backdrop, singing pitch-perfect synchronous harmonies on songs from their debut, Wildewoman (Mom+Pop) which mesmerized the audience, most of whom had perma-smiles on their faces for the entire set and moved in place with the band’s rhythms, and not just to keep warm.
Percussion was on full display most of the evening, including on the booming end of ‘Tempest’ and throughout the later numbers. The girls charmed with a story of their friend, calling in as he waited at an airport as he could hear a woman next to him, blasting their songs through her headphones. The band face-timed on their phone with their friend then ended up speaking with the surprised woman, who also happened to be in the audience this night, and had the album’s title track dedicated to her moment of happenstance.
‘Nothing Ordinary’ grooved with a NYC street-sounding guitar riff while ‘Monsters’ haunted with slo-motion vocals and You Wont's Sastri and his violin bow against musical saw, guesting on the track.
“You guys are really being…awesome”, guitarist Lalish deadpanned before the band revved back up for ‘How Loud Your Heart Gets’, then into ‘Turn it Around’ (with You Won’t joining them onstage in matching blonde wigs), an undeniable nugget of ear candy with chorus, “She's looking through the wrong end of her telescope, turn it around, turn it around “.
The emotive, slower ‘Go Home’ brought the tempo down temporarily before the almost funky, ‘Genevieve’ darted, ducked, and weaved to the finish. The encore song, a cover of the unreleased McCartney/Beatles number, ‘Goodbye’, was done in the middle of the crowd, stripped down with Wolfe and Laessig, along with drummer Molad, making it into a song of their own.
“Having you here means everything, we love knowing we have a family in Minneapolis”, Wolf mentioned admiring the bravery of everyone coming out in the storm, as she introduced the song.
…Now kicking yourself for missing them? – You can tune in TONIGHT, as Lucius are featured on Last Call with Carson Daly, performing two songs from a recent West Coast gig. The rest of us will have to count the days until they return again for another memorable show.
“I Love Lucius” (the band’s Twitter handle) was definitely the pervasive feeling of the full crowd that fought through nearly a foot of snow falling and parking/blizzard warnings, to see one of the buzziest indie bands going currently.
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You Won't
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Enthusiastically unorthodox begins to describe them, as songs like ‘Television’ and the somewhat somber 'Three Car Garage' were the fairly standard guitar/drum combo, while others featured glockenspiel, a harmonium, and a musical saw. A unique duo, to say the least…
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Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig
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The band bravely began their 60 minute set with a cover of The Kinks’ 1970 non-hit ‘Strangers’ and its opening line, “Where are you going I don't mind / I've killed my world and I've killed my time”, though any dourness would soon wash away.
Both women manned keyboards and faced each other in front of a profiled backdrop, singing pitch-perfect synchronous harmonies on songs from their debut, Wildewoman (Mom+Pop) which mesmerized the audience, most of whom had perma-smiles on their faces for the entire set and moved in place with the band’s rhythms, and not just to keep warm.
Percussion was on full display most of the evening, including on the booming end of ‘Tempest’ and throughout the later numbers. The girls charmed with a story of their friend, calling in as he waited at an airport as he could hear a woman next to him, blasting their songs through her headphones. The band face-timed on their phone with their friend then ended up speaking with the surprised woman, who also happened to be in the audience this night, and had the album’s title track dedicated to her moment of happenstance.
‘Nothing Ordinary’ grooved with a NYC street-sounding guitar riff while ‘Monsters’ haunted with slo-motion vocals and You Wont's Sastri and his violin bow against musical saw, guesting on the track.
“You guys are really being…awesome”, guitarist Lalish deadpanned before the band revved back up for ‘How Loud Your Heart Gets’, then into ‘Turn it Around’ (with You Won’t joining them onstage in matching blonde wigs), an undeniable nugget of ear candy with chorus, “She's looking through the wrong end of her telescope, turn it around, turn it around “.
The emotive, slower ‘Go Home’ brought the tempo down temporarily before the almost funky, ‘Genevieve’ darted, ducked, and weaved to the finish. The encore song, a cover of the unreleased McCartney/Beatles number, ‘Goodbye’, was done in the middle of the crowd, stripped down with Wolfe and Laessig, along with drummer Molad, making it into a song of their own.
“Having you here means everything, we love knowing we have a family in Minneapolis”, Wolf mentioned admiring the bravery of everyone coming out in the storm, as she introduced the song.
…Now kicking yourself for missing them? – You can tune in TONIGHT, as Lucius are featured on Last Call with Carson Daly, performing two songs from a recent West Coast gig. The rest of us will have to count the days until they return again for another memorable show.
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Lucius at Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (20 Feb 2014) |
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