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“Beer, bikes, and bemusement” were on tap and the order of the day as New Belgium Brewery’s Tour de Fat hit Minneapolis’ Loring Park, for a return visit recently.
The eclectic event is in its fifteenth year, covering ten U.S. cities this year through October, and celebrates the continued use of bicycles as a primary mode of transportation. A fundraising bike marathon/parade started the day, with people and their bikes often dressed in outlandish costumes, and ended in Loring Park, culminating with games, food and beverage tents, oddities, and live music.
The musical headliner for the Minneapolis stop was Portland indie folksters, Blind Pilot, who haven’t been heard from on record since 2011’s We Are the Tide (Expunged Records), but new music appears to be in the offing, as a handful of new songs were heard during their afternoon 55 min. set.
The band is no strangers to bikes themselves, having completed a bicycle tour in 2008 from Bellingham, WA to San Diego, CA, carrying their instruments on custom bicycle trailers and playing at two dozen stops along the way, and their laid-back folk stylings went down as easy as a pint of New Belgium’s own, Flat Tire Amber Ale.
Harmonies were polished by lead singer/guitarist Israel Nebeker, stand-up bassist Luke Ydstie, and banjo/mandolin player Kati Claborn, with a touch of class (and a Cake-like sound on some songs) with trumpet by Dave Jorgensen and vibraphone by Ian Krist.
Timing is right for the band to re-emerge on the scene as similar sounding bands like The Head and the Heart, Lord Huron, and The Lumineers, have all recently gone on to higher heights. Singer Nebeker congratulated the crowd for Minneapolis being voted the most bike-friendly city and ‘Half Moon’ soared liked a soft glider with its lyrics, “so hold high have faith your reasons; your flashing sparrows chasing with them; don’t you forget you come from nothing; that wind is calling my name”.
The contemplative gentle songs and in-between song tunings made a few restless in the afternoon heat, but most just raised a pint, and leaned back to take in the easy going tunes. Just after 40 min in, Nebeker realized time was growing short, so gave the audience a choice on what to cut from the setlist, skipping ahead to ‘3 Rounds and a Sound’ from their 2008 EP.
Ending with the title track of their most recent album with its opening lyrics, “Our time is ever on the road; the ride is in what we make”, the bike theme seemed to come full circle with Jorgenson’s trumpet playing adding an appropriate elegance.
Though Webster’s defines bemusement as the act of “causing someone to be confused and often also somewhat amused”, we’ll just say we were satisfied with Blind Pilot, playing free in the park, amidst quirky costumes and bicycles, beverages, and carny fun.
Tour de Fat dates:
The eclectic event is in its fifteenth year, covering ten U.S. cities this year through October, and celebrates the continued use of bicycles as a primary mode of transportation. A fundraising bike marathon/parade started the day, with people and their bikes often dressed in outlandish costumes, and ended in Loring Park, culminating with games, food and beverage tents, oddities, and live music.
The musical headliner for the Minneapolis stop was Portland indie folksters, Blind Pilot, who haven’t been heard from on record since 2011’s We Are the Tide (Expunged Records), but new music appears to be in the offing, as a handful of new songs were heard during their afternoon 55 min. set.
The band is no strangers to bikes themselves, having completed a bicycle tour in 2008 from Bellingham, WA to San Diego, CA, carrying their instruments on custom bicycle trailers and playing at two dozen stops along the way, and their laid-back folk stylings went down as easy as a pint of New Belgium’s own, Flat Tire Amber Ale.
Israel Nebeker
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Timing is right for the band to re-emerge on the scene as similar sounding bands like The Head and the Heart, Lord Huron, and The Lumineers, have all recently gone on to higher heights. Singer Nebeker congratulated the crowd for Minneapolis being voted the most bike-friendly city and ‘Half Moon’ soared liked a soft glider with its lyrics, “so hold high have faith your reasons; your flashing sparrows chasing with them; don’t you forget you come from nothing; that wind is calling my name”.
The contemplative gentle songs and in-between song tunings made a few restless in the afternoon heat, but most just raised a pint, and leaned back to take in the easy going tunes. Just after 40 min in, Nebeker realized time was growing short, so gave the audience a choice on what to cut from the setlist, skipping ahead to ‘3 Rounds and a Sound’ from their 2008 EP.
Ending with the title track of their most recent album with its opening lyrics, “Our time is ever on the road; the ride is in what we make”, the bike theme seemed to come full circle with Jorgenson’s trumpet playing adding an appropriate elegance.
Though Webster’s defines bemusement as the act of “causing someone to be confused and often also somewhat amused”, we’ll just say we were satisfied with Blind Pilot, playing free in the park, amidst quirky costumes and bicycles, beverages, and carny fun.
Tour de Fat dates:
08/15/15 Boise, ID Ann Morrison Park (w/ Lake Street Dive)
09/05/15 Fort Collins, CO Civic Center Park (w/ Nahko and Medicine for the People)
09/12/15 Denver, CO (w/ The Suffers) City Park (w/ The Suffers)
09/19/15 San Francisco, CA Golden Gate (w/TBD)
09/26/15 San Diego, CA Golden Hill Park (w/TBD)
10/03/15 Tempe, AZ Tempe Beach Park (w/TBD)
09/05/15 Fort Collins, CO Civic Center Park (w/ Nahko and Medicine for the People)
09/12/15 Denver, CO (w/ The Suffers) City Park (w/ The Suffers)
09/19/15 San Francisco, CA Golden Gate (w/TBD)
09/26/15 San Diego, CA Golden Hill Park (w/TBD)
10/03/15 Tempe, AZ Tempe Beach Park (w/TBD)
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Blind Pilot at Tour de Fat Twin Cities- Loring Park, Minneapolis (25 July 2015) |
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