Going proudly into the good night

The Lumineers bring so much to each show that the whirl of instrument changes and stage arrangements can be overwhelming. Tambourines are tossed in the air, slapped on thighs and snare drums, and later smashed to bits and tossed into the audience.It doesn’t seem to matter what needs to be sacrificed for the sake of the musical gods, as The Lumineers from Denver, Colorado, are willing to everything it takes. And they are in full command, with the audience eating from their hand from the opening number which is a full throated singalong, “Sleep on the floor”. The melodies and lyrics seem to hang longer in the cold mountain night at Field of Heaven.

The second number in the set was “Cleopatra” which had the band dancing and stomping along with the audience engage in overhead hand claps with the refrain, “late for this, late for that”, and we all figured out, ultimately on time for the funeral. The third song was a new one the band plan to release on an LP in September called “Life in the City”. The band was clearly still working on the arrangement of the song, and was test driving it in a live setting.

Later, “Submarines’ hit with with double snare drums going in full unison. It was a prelude to “Dead Sea” which started with a solo performance front and center by Wesley Schultz, later joined by the full band. He introduced the song saying it was about love, and soon donned a hat, adding to his classic troubadour look.

Schultz continued the somber mood with another new song “Leader of Landslide”. This song was dedicated to a family friend which suffered with addiction ultimately going through the indignity of jail and rehab, followed by homelessness.

Picking up the mood a bit, the band transitioned to the first song on their first album “Flowers in your hair”. It was to be the first of many songs the band would perform in a single line formation standing squarely at the front of the stage and directly addressing the audience. Later, the kick drum would play an important role in the band’s hit “Hey Ho” and also “Angie”.

Schultz then told the audience that he and drummer Jeremiah Fraites never thought they would tour the world playing the music they wrote at home. The band once again assembled for “Big Parade” and then it was “Donna” and “Angela. For the set closer, they got full audience participation for “Stubborn Love”.

And just when we thought it was over a roadie handed Schultz a new guitar and the gave a glowing introduction to the next song, Tom Petty’s “Walls”. He said Petty was an idol to him as a young artist, and was deeply appreciative of Petty’s praise for the band’s rendition of the song. With that it was good-bye and sending out the rest of the guitar picks, drum sticks, and broken tambourine into the audience.