Lucius at Fitzgerald
Lucius Setlist
Pure Bathing Culture Setlist
Tour Dates 17/05/2019 The Rialto Theatre, Tucson, AZ
18/05/2019 Pappy & Harriet's, Pioneertown, CA 22/05/2019 The Theatre at Ace Hotel, Los Angeles, CA 08/06/2019 Iroquois Amphitheater, Louisville, KY 13/06/2019 Three Rivers Arts Festival 2019 Pittsburgh, PA 14/06/2019 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD 23/06/2019 Beacon Theatre, New York, NY 24/06/2019 Beacon Theatre, New York, NY 26/06/2019 Beacon Theatre, New York, NY 28/06/2019 Beacon Theatre, New York, NY 29/06/2019 Huntington Bank Pavilion, Chicago, IL 05/07/2019 SPAC), Saratoga Springs, NY 06/07/2019 Bethel Woods Center, Bethel, NY 07/07/2019 Prescott Park, Portsmouth, NH 12/07/2019 Forecastle Festival , Louisville, KY 13/07/2019 The Barns, Whitefish, MT 14/07/2019 Under the Big Sky Whitefish, MT 19/07/2019 Comerica Theatre, Phoenix, AZ 20/07/2019 Santa Barbara Bowl, Santa Barbara, CA 21/07/2019 Brooklyn Bowl - Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 23/07/2019 Red Butte Garden Amph Salt Lake City, UT 24/07/2019 River Run Lodge, Ketchum, ID 25/07/2019 Outlaw Field , Boise, ID 25-28/07/2019 Calgary Folk Music , AB, Canada 26-28/07/2019 Interstellar Rodeo , Edmonton, AB, Canada 30/07/2019 PNE Amphitheatre, Vancouver, BC, Canada 02-04 /08/2019 Pickathon Pendarvis Farm, Happy Valley, OR 21/09/2019 Greek Theatre-UC. Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 22/09/2019 Greek Theatre-UC. Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 29/01/2020-02/02/2020 Girls Just Wanna Weekend , Mexico Read More
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Live nudes and pure bathing?!
...sounds somewhat scandalous, but in fact, it was indie vocal group Lucius and openers Pure Bathing Culture returning together, for a mellow but very enjoyable evening at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, on the first of a two-night stand.
We previously thought Pure Bathing Culture was a fine musical accompaniment to the headliner when we saw them together in early 2016 , then were lucky enough to have them return a few months later as a headliner. This time out, they were performing as a duo (for the first time in a long time - Sarah Versprille – vocals/keys and guitarist Daniel Hindman) in support of their newly released third full-length, Night Pass (on Infinite Companion Records).
The new album’s themes center around perseverance and the lasting strength of love, exemplified best on lead single ‘Devotion’ and the new ‘All Night’, with Versprille singing “All night I'll run with you
'til black in the sky turns blue”. Musically, there is a West Coast gentleness, touches of dream pop and ‘80s influence, and a musical curiosity that wonders instead of wanders, and they closed with one of their first songs ever written, early single ‘Ivory Coast’ from their 2012 EP.
The mutual love affair between the Twin Cities and Lucius continues – the LA by-way-of Brooklyn foursome (led by Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, with Dan Molad and Peter Lalish) has played the area very regularly in the last several years-- from venues as small as radio studio and record store appearances, to as large as arenas, as part of Roger Waters’ band on his last world tour.
Their latest release is last year’s Nudes (on Mom+Pop Music) a collection of acoustic versions, new songs, and even a duet with Waters himself, and the band is best known for Wolfe and Laessig’s heavenly harmonies and their synchronous style, in identical dresses (in red fringe and armor-like leggings this night) and hairstyles, singing into a single shared mic.
After starting quietly with 2015’s ‘Dusty Trails’, early single ‘Tempest’ turned up the tempo and a Gerry Rafferty cover proved again popular, as we also heard it recently from New Zealand singer Aldous Harding as well. Another cover song done early in their eighty-minute set was a 1964 song by The McKinleys (the original of which featured a young session man named Jimmy Page on guitar), their version of which was recorded in Chicago with Jeff Tweedy, but remains yet unreleased.
After a soaring ‘Go Home’, they cheekily said “not yet” to the crowd, making themselves laugh as much as the crowd. Wolfe told the story of staying at the venue pre-gig, while Laessig made her way to (presumably) Meritage for oysters and wine, which ended up being paid for by a couple of local fans, “I made the wrong choice” Wolfe said about staying behind and just sipping bone broth.
Three of the local string section Laurels Quartet joined the band for their two evening stand, adding a polish and elegance to the songs they sat in on, especially noteworthy as they ended the somber ‘Feels Like a Curse’ with a stirring interlude.
After big hit, ‘Turn it Around’, the group brought back out Pure Bathing Culture for an emotional cover of ‘Most of What I Know’ originally done by late artist and producer Richard Swift, who was once a member of The Shins and The Arcs (playing with Dan Auerbach also as a live member of The Black Keys) and had produced the likes of Nathaniel Rateliff and Damien Jurado. His untimely death still resonates with both acts, as Pure Bathing Culture dedicated their last song to Swift as well.
The new ‘Woman’ closed the main set, a song about parting ways but not wanting to do so, setting up the encore perfectly. The three-song encore was a dreamy and hopeful lullaby of a send-off, beginning with a 1985 Daniel Johnston cover (again proving the band can dig deep for the right song) which led into their own ‘Two of Us on the Run’ from 2013.
“It feels like home to be here” Wolfe said about playing locally, explaining it is the people and their fans that make their shows special, and is not something they take for granted. “And with that, we’ll leave you with a little lullaby, that hopefully pulls at your heartstrings, as you’ve done for us”, Wolfe said as they finished acapella with a Disney classic song from 1950’s ‘Cinderella’.
“No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true” Lucius sang, ending things with a ray of hope, light, and (literal) harmony.
(click on any photo below to enlarge and see full image)
Lucius |
Lucius at Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul (10 May 2019) |
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