Lumineers show it’s their heart that matters

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/03/2017 (3415 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On the cover of their newest record, the Lumineers — more likely known to most as “the band that sings that Ho Hey song” — features a black and white image of actress Theda Bara from the 1917 production of Cleopatra. She’s decked out in an elaborate headdress and striking a pose that is feminine and confident.

The band has stated the image is meant to embody the idea of focusing on the core and not the illusion; that no matter how you dress someone — or something — up, it’s the intent and heart of it that matters.

Two sketches of that same image of Bara as Cleopatra flanked the stage of the Lumineers’ live show at MTS Centre Tuesday night as a subtle reminder of that fact; that no matter the lights and showmanship, the Lumineers are all about the music (though they did have some pretty exceptional lights, too).

The Denver-based, indie-folk three-piece (plus two additional touring band members) chose to start the night off with Submarines, a lesser-known track off their debut record, but it wasn’t long before they cracked out their smash single Ho Hey, which of course elicited a boisterous sing along. It was a moment that typically happens later in most sets, but an instant chemistry between the band and the crowd developed which allowed for a lot of the usual formalities to be bypassed completely.

The Lumineers’ ability to be so connected, so quickly is impressive, especially with this being their first Winnipeg show. A big part of that can be credited to singer Wesley Schultz. He’s a story teller, and often prefaced the songs with a personal anecdote — before Cleopatra, he spoke about women’s rights, before Charlie Boy, he spoke about his uncle and before Gun Song, he spoke emotionally about his father who passed away. He’s sincere in his speech, which makes their music feel sincere, too.

“We want to make this big, big place feel small again,” said Schultz (referencing their early days playing much smaller venues) before he and the rest of the band made their way to an elevated stage in the middle of the floor. It was a tight jam space, but the close confines seemed to only amplify their energy. On that platform, they blasted through four songs, including the barn-burner Classy Girls and Where the Skies are Blue, which featured the soothing croon of cellist Neyla Pekarek.

The Lumineers have been on the road for months, making their way through a gruelling world tour, but they show no signs of fatigue. They are tight as a unit, efficient but still casual and fun. Even Schultz’s voice has held up well — he sounds live exactly as he does on the records; a little rasp and little twang, with a habit of almost swinging his voice into his upper register.

They then returned to the main stage and plowed through their most recent hit single, Ophelia, with Schultz taking an opportunity to run into the crowd, going up into the stands to shake hands before entering the pit and getting engulfed by a mob of fans.

After a tiny break, Schultz returned to the stage to start the three-song encore with a solo performance of the affecting Long Way From Home. The rest of the band returned to round out the night with a cover of Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues followed by Stubborn Love, which had fans literally dancing in the aisles. 

A lot of what the Lumineers do would feel tacky if it were any number of other bands attempting it, but because there is this base level of authenticity ingrained into their work, it reads as charming rather than cheesy.

Charleston five-piece Susto (pronounced soos-toe and not suss-toe as I had previously thought) opened the show on a mellow note with a mixed bag of folk and alt-rock tunes. While there wasn’t anything necessarily to dislike about Susto, they are a band that kind of sounds like a lot of other bands, the only exception being frontman Justin Osborne’s beautifully gravelly vocals. That said, Susto’s songs certainly have earworm potential; driven by bass-heavy drum lines and catchy guitar hooks, it’s the kind of music that will have your head bobbing before you even realize it.

Kaleo, a rock band out of Iceland, took the second slot of the night. Cheers chirped from the crowd before the all-male four-piece even came on stage — just their backdrop unfurling was enough to stir up some excitement. For context, Kaleo, while still relatively unknown to the general public, has been amassing quite a following — not only in their home country but all over the world. Last year, their single, Way Down We Go, reached No.1 on the Billboard Alternative charts (and also received considerable play on local rock radio)

While Kaleo is billed as a rock band, much of their set was infused with influences of folk and blues, including the stunning I Can’t Go On Without You, which kicked off their 40 minute set. There is a classic quality about them, mainly in the meat-and-potatoes vibe of some of their more vintage-sounding rock tracks and the ever-present grit and screaming Robert Plant-esque falsettos vocalist and guitar player JJ Julius Son hammers out, but there is also a whimsical side to their music that is unexpectedly charming. It seems likely Kaleo will upgrade to headlining status before too long.

erin.lebar@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @NireRabel