By Elena Coe McNamara
Features Editor
Indie rock band The Lumineers pleased the crowd with a heartfelt and emotional performance.
The Lumineers thoroughly entertained the crowd with an emotional performance with minimal special effects in order to put the focus upon on the band. The vocals and instrumental aspects of the concert were overwhelmingly impressive.
The sold out concert took place at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on October 5, and was opened by pop singer Bornes and alternative country musician Rayland Baxter. This was The Lumineers’ first and only Los Angeles performance on the Cleopatra World Tour.
The Lumineers consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Wesley Schultz, drummer and pianist Jeremiah Fraites and cellist and background singer Neyla Pekarek. The band describes themselves as a ‘scruffy independent Americana trio.’
The opening band, Bornes, successfully engaged the audience by playing energizing, classic songs such as “Benny and the Jets,” intermixed with their own originals. Bornes closed with their original hit song, “Electric Love,” which greatly excited the crowd and increased anticipation for The Lumineers to perform.
The Lumineers created an authentic atmosphere and stayed true to indie roots by trying to provide viewers with a genuine concert experience. After playing their first ever hit song, ‘Ho Hey,’ from 2012 album ‘The Lumineers,’ Schultz politely asked for audience members to put away their phones and simply enjoy a true concert experience. Doing so added to the heartwarming feel of the emotional concert.
The Lumineers successfully entertained viewers by walking off the stage and moving about halfway up The Hollywood Bowl during the concert in order to play a few songs up close for fans who could not afford VIP or front row tickets. These actions further created a personal connection between the viewers and performers.
The band excelled in showcasing a diverse range of vocals and instrumentals. Schultz engaged the crowd through his storytelling and singing while both instrumentalists captivated the crowd through their use of music to relay emotions. In addition, backup singer Pekarek performed a captivating solo which astounded concertgoers.
The stage was set with minimal lighting effects that remained invariable in order to ensure the audience’s attention was set on the band. While the resulting effect was calming and relaxing, it unfortunately made for an underwhelming performance as the majority of the songs played by The Lumineers were rather slow in tempo.
The performance was extremely emotional, due to Schultz’s explanation of the background behind each song. This included sharing with the audience the fact that “Dead Sea” is based on his wife, “Charlie Boy” his grandfather and many other personal additions to the lyrics, which ensured listeners felt a connection to the performance.
Overall, despite the subdued atmosphere, The Lumineers gave an excellent performance captivating the audience’s attention and creating a strong connection with all concertgoers.
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