LUMINEERS PLAY PORTLAND

Or don’t blame at all?  via www.quotehd.com

Once you’ve seen a Lumineers concert your baby boomer brain starts working. It might happen with others, too. If so, leave a comment.

Are the players in Lumineers channeling their inner Grateful Dead? Phish? Who do they sound like?

At some point all bands share a common note, a thread of recognition.

Then they played Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues somewhere in the middle of their show.

The walk out music was Bruce Springsteen’s Atlantic City, though I’m hearing Streets of Philadelphia now.

With guitar changes and seat changes between instruments, the band made a point of showing they could all play each others parts.

Except the cello. When you’ve got a cello in the band, and the band’s not named Kansas, one is enough.

Wiki calls Lumineers a folk rock band. Dylan was a folk guy, then rock guy, inventing the genre, so why not blast through one of his masterpieces?

Lumineers as The Band? Does Dylan listen to them?

The shot everyone takes before going into the Schnitzer shows it all, where you are, where you’re going, maybe who you’re with.

I was with a group tighter than the Lumineers. Four of us sat together with my seat next to the stranger.

He was a young stranger on a date.

“Did you see the earlier bands?” I asked.

“Who?”

“The two bands playing before the headliner.”

“Do you even know who’s playing? It’s not The Eagles.”

Nothing like generational smack talk at a Lumineers concert.

“See these? I wore my Lumineers suspenders.”

“Where’s your hat? Did you leave your shoes at home, too?”

Pretty funny guy, and I played along, even though I’ve had enough ‘old guy’ jokes for a while. I was meeting someone once and asked them how we’d see each other.

He said, “I’ll just look for a Q-tip in the crowd.” Gray hair, cotton, you get it.

After watching a few Lumineers videos, I wore something like I saw, white shirt and with a little firm hold gel to spike things up.

“This is where I saw my first concert in 1974. Back then it was a dive. Eight dollar ticket.”

“Who’d you see?”

“The Eagles touring for Desperado.”

“That’s cool.”

“I saw Queen play a venue this size about a third full.”

“Queen?”

“Saw The Kinks here, too.”

Conversation over. He was on a date, I was on a rock and roll history jag. No sense ruining anyone’s night. Besides, the show was about to begin.

A few songs in the lead Lumineer said the first time his band played Portland was a place with no power, no mics or amps, and he wanted to re-create the moment.

You know a band found their audience when everyone sings along. The proof was seeing The Wall in Tacoma where everyone sang along.

It happened here, too. Power off, crowd quiets, the song starts. At a level of respect, they all sang along louder and louder then quieted down when they got the bring it down signal.

I’ve always envied European soccer crowds who all sing in unison. Not any more, not with the hymn-feel and swaying and voices raised.

And that’s the walk-out sensation of The Lumineers. Church. If you aren’t saved in the church of rock and roll, you’re at least baptized in the experience.

If you’re invited to see The Lumineers, make the effort. Ladies need skirts and cowboy boots, guys need skinny jeans and dress shoes.

Since it’s Portland you can wear anything, but too many to ignore wore their show gear.

Did I see anyone else in a white shirt and suspenders doing their best Colonel Sanders impersonation?

Not a one.