You'll never sink when you're with me.
I think I saw Jesus last week. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but I did see the most radical new band I’ve seen play live since Mumford & Sons, and let’s just say, they blew my Sputnik sized cranium wide open.
If there were a musical equivalent to the combination of a gentle, yet firm hug from your BFF, a hot and heavy (over the clothes, cause you’ve decided to have standards in 2012) make out session with Jordan Catalano in the back of his Mustang, AND experiencing the Aha! moment when you finally understand that everything really WILL be alright…well, then said magical incarnation, in my humble opinion, would be: The Lumineers.
Forget about the fact that I first discovered their infectious single, Ho Hey, while watching an episode of one of my, ahem, many secret TV shames (the CW’s Hart of Dixie). And don’t even bother asking about my other “indiscretions.” After all, it’s taboo to discuss one’s “number,” so let’s not get caught up with details and just get on with our lives. Mmmkay?
Let’s talk folk rock! My Peruvian homeboy, Mitch, and I hit up the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, which is a totally underrated venue. It’s got a great, unpretentious vibe and even sold out it wasn’t uncomfortably crowded. The Lumineers are a Denver trio of proper musicians (we were treated to a melodic menagerie of guitars, cello, mandolin, piano, and even a multi-colored xylophone, just to name a few), and it’s beyond refreshing to witness a REAL performance in a world overrun by pre-recorded vocals and Auto-Tune.
The kicker was their one song encore, which they performed acoustically, after hopping off stage and into the motherflippin’ crowd. Mitch and I bum rushed the center of the room like a pair of proper tune nerds, and were treated to an electric explosion of sound three feet away from us.
Total geek out: achieved.
