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Review Tue Apr 28 2015
Lord Huron Went A-Wandering to the Vic Monday Night
The modern world doesn't tend to be that full of tales of adventure and romance anymore. Those gentlemen of the road stories haven't really translated well into the modern era of texting and snapchat, which is why I like to think of Lord Huron as a precious commodity to their generation of music. They're doing something uniquely anachronistic and they're doing it so well that Chicagoans came out en masse on a Monday night to see them do it.
First up at the Vic Monday night was Leon Bridges, a new face out of Fort Worth, Texas. The young Bridges is a gospel and soul singer with an old soul -- a perfect warm up for the nostalgia of Lord Huron. Bridges prefaced one of his songs (the silky smooth and lovely "Coming Home") with "this is a song about faithfulness. We live in an era where that isn't exactly glorified anymore, in fact just the opposite, but this is a song about knowing exactly who you're coming home to." Bridges, who currently has a recorded EP with two songs, played for a good 45 minutes, trying out some new material to the enthusiastic approval of the crowd.
Playing backed by two guitars, a bass, a drummer and a back-up vocalist, Bridges filled the Vic with his slow and sultry sound, looking very dapper and clean cut in a suit and addressing the crowd, explaining that this was his first time in Chicago (which garnered quite a burst of applause). Considering this was his first time in the city and he's already playing the Vic we can probably expect big things from Bridges. If you're looking to experience him in a smaller venue, he plays The Green Mill tomorrow. I can only imagine it'll be a great show.
Lord Huron took the stage next, backed by a creepily awesome glowing skull surrounded by their album title Strange Trails. The LA based indie folk band released their sophomore album just a month ago, but if I had that thing on vinyl it'd already be worn down to nothing (thank goodness for mp3s.) Working in the same style of their 2012 debut album Lonesome Dreams, Strange Trails plays almost like a book on tape in song form, composed of stories straight out of a wild west, gentlemen of the road, adventure tale.
Filled with stories of loss, foiled love, and of course death as the great beyond, Ben Schneider took the Vic through the album and on a rambling adventure on Monday evening. Barely addressing the crowd at all, and keeping within the confines of his storytelling, Schneider and the band ambled their way through "Until the Night Turns", "Dead Man's Hand", "The World Ender" and of course the first single off that album "Fool for Love." If your heart doesn't break a little each time you hear the misplaced optimism of that lovestruck young man "lying in the drifting snow, bleeding out as it covers him up" then you're doing it wrong.
Ending their set with an encore of "Time to Run" (which was met with literal "whoops!" of excitement from the crowd and an explosion of very enthusiastic dancing) the band sent the crowd off into the Chicago night in a nostalgic and rambling frame of mind, ready for adventure (which is maybe the right frame of mind for those hitting the red line after 11pm -- adventure is one way to put it.)
The group's coming back for Lollapalooza on Sunday, and they are not an act to be missed -- so grab your bandanna, your panama hat, and your wanderlust and get there early to claim your spot.