The crowd surged forward and swayed along. A well-crafted rock song that coaxes us through the verses, then grinds us through the dynamic chorus, it showcased the band perfectly. It was “Trying” that gave us a slower beat and pulled in a larger attention from the crowd. Knowing that Bully recorded their first album in Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studio, you can hear the influences of his trademark sound scattered among the songs. “Running” and “I Remember” had the crowd in front jumping along to the highly energized band. Influences of grunge and punk immediately mixed together as Alicia’s voice led a collage of confessional whispers and howling statements. Scruffy guitars, driving drums, and angst-filled lyrics cut through the crowd. Native Alicia Bognanno brought her ’90s alt-rock revivalists group to our attention by starting off the set with “Brainfreeze”. Taking the stage first was Nashville formed and Minnesotan-fronted band Bully. ![]() Surly Brewing‘s Festival Field provided a perfect campground last night for a community of campers. ![]() Lighting and thunder, rivers and mountains, deserts and oceans, all forces of nature pulling us back around their virtual campfire. Their lyrics are also chalked full of outdoor visuals. It makes sense when the band name is inspired by Lake Huron in Michigan, where Ben grew up visiting and spending evenings playing music around the campfire. Having seen them perform at Red Rocks Amphitheater earlier this year, there’s something about Ben Schneiders’ singing amongst the setting sun that emotionally connects us to their music. ■Standout banter: "I knew I liked Milwaukee." - Schneider, taking the stage for the encore.I’m convinced Lord Huron sounds better outdoors. The expected twenty-something hipsters were there, but there were also a couple of kids (actual kids, not college kids), people in their 60s and 70s, and all ages in between. ■This may have been the most diverse range of ages I've seen at a "buzz band" show. But the Minneapolis band's warped country sound - woozy guitar dripping in psychedelia, Pelant's high-octave croon - was as bright as day. Singer John Pelant did offer up some night moves of sorts, tiptoeing across the stage from time to time, like a teenager sneaking back into his house after curfew. Opener Night Moves is not to be mistaken for Night Beds, which was originally supposed to open for Lord Huron Wednesday night before dropping out of the tour. And in that very brief moment, Lord Huron transformed from the cleansing rain into roaring thunder. And for the show's finale, "The Stranger," Barry let himself go, with harder drumming and a flurry of cymbal crashes. The band also loosened up for its elongated live rendition of signature song "Time to Run," with distorted vocal wails, xylophone twinkles and expansive guitar. Mark Barry's drumsticks snapped against the rim, sounding like tap shoes shuffling across a wooden floor, on "We Went Wild." Within a few minutes, "Wild" was swaying with Caribbean pop rhythms, a pinch reminiscent of Peter Gabriel, and an exasperated, twitchy Schneider had lost his hat. ![]() The band's precious approach bloomed nicely on "Earth," the effect lingering into "The Man Who Lives Forever." But the third song in the set, "I Will Be Back One Day," sounded like more of the same, and more déjà vu moments followed over the 73-minute run-time.įortunately, there were some brief changes of weather. But Lord Huron is no less cinematic it just attains its widescreen sweep in less conventional ways, like the distant hum of Schneider's harmonica on "The Ghost on the Shore."īut even a lovely rain, after a while, becomes a drip. The song, like many found on the Los Angeles-based band's 2012 full-length debut "Lonesome Dreams," is prettier, dreamier, than other star folk acts - Mumford & Sons, the Lumineers - whose music is similarly reminiscent of a romantic, long-ago era. Initially joined by the slightly Spanish strumming of acoustic guitar, "Earth" live evoked images of an expansive, unspoiled Western frontier under a night sky, and that was before the giddyup of heroic electric guitar and adventure-seeking drums. The first drops metaphorically fell for "Ends of the Earth," with the harmonic yodeling of frontman Ben Schneider with guitarists and backing vocalists Tom Renaud and Karl Kerfoot. The effect was a fitting metaphor - not so much because Lord Huron is like a storm, although a brewing buzz did prompt a venue change from Turner Hall Ballroom to the larger Pabst (which neared capacity).īut the band, live and on record, is similar to a cleansing rain. The recorded sound of a thunderstorm rumbling in the darkness of the Pabst Theater Wednesday preceded the arrival of Lord Huron's debut Milwaukee performance.
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