Local Natives made their way up to Seattle on Friday for a sold-out gig at the Showbox at the Market with North Carolina’s The Love Language and The Union Line hailing from California.
The show brought out a crowd so large that the line curled around the block past the iconic Pike Place Market sign, but it was also a Friday night.
The Union Line played a great set of their sunny Southern California indie rock with just enough soul to get your feet moving. “Pearls” was a pretty good tune, and this is definitely a band worth watching out for. With their brand of indie rock, you could hear their stuff on college radio in no time. I was surrounded by anxious teenagers waiting to see Local Natives, but the fans were very positive and perceptive toward The Union Line, with multiple guys around me shouting to the band as they were clearing out their gear, “you guys kicked ass!”
The Love Language was up next, after what seemed to be an excruciatingly long intermission. I’m pretty sure the band was up there for at least 20 minutes trying to get things set up, testing the mics, making random conversation with the people in the front row. But at least they didn’t get frustrated with the technical difficulties, and played an awesome and energetic set.
You don’t normally hear of a lot of bands that come from Raleigh, North Carolina. But The Love Language is North Carolina without the cheesy twang. However, I did hear lead singer Stuart McLamb say y’all at least a couple times.
The Love Language were quite charming on stage, dancing around with each other to their retro blues psychedelia. Keyboardist Missy Thangs not only pounded the keys, but swung around the stage crashing a tambourine ebulliently against her thigh as McLamb’s bangs became soaked in sweat.
After another tediously long waiting period, the band we all came to see stepped on stage and the crowd went wild. And when guitarist Taylor Rice professed his love for Seattle as their favorite tour destination, we returned the love quite loudly as they jumped right into a fantastic and powerful version of “Camera Talk.”
And apparently Paseo is their favorite tour food. Are they sure they aren’t local?
Needless to say, the enthusiastic crowd made them feel at home at the Showbox.
Obviously with having released just their first album Gorilla Manor, there wasn’t a large cataloge to play from, but that meant that everyone in the venue knew all the words to all the songs. It was interesting, because I’m not used to hearing all the songs off one album, but I’m looking forward to many more albums from this band. If Gorilla Manor doesn’t land on all the “best of 2010″ list, I’ll be upset. Seriously, that album is so good.
So naturally, the show was good.
I had caught half of Local Natives’ set back in May at the Sasquatch Festival, but playing to the small Showbox, it was a much more intimate experience with their powerful harmonies ringing along the rounded walls.
It was when the band broke into the melancholy, yet upbeat “Airplanes” that you could almost imagine the people walking along 1st St. being able to hear the echo of “I want you back, back, you back!” reverberating from the Green Tortoise Hostel on the corner of 1st and Pike to the gum wall below the Market.
A few of my favorites from the night were “Wide Eyes,” “Shape Shifter,” and of course “Who Knows Who Cares.” The last of which was their “last” song of the night, with Rice’s strong and earnest vocals accompanied by keyboardist Kelcey Ayer and guitarist Ryan Hahn, and it was so beautiful.
But because there were two songs clearly missing from the set, the band came out once again after the crowd had started chanting “SUN HANDS” for the encore. Well, they didn’t get to that quite yet. “Cubism Dream” was the first song of the encore. It was nice, but it paled in comparison to the last song – the glorious and dynamic “Sun Hands” – which started out with a drawn-out intro with the quick beat from drummer Matt Frazier. Then after the haunting choruses of “ahhh ahhh ahhhhhhhhh,” everyone in the crowd threw up their hands and sang along to “and when I can’t feel with my sun hands, I promise not to lose her again!” And then the band extended the bridge into this rocking break-down where the floor of the Showbox almost felt like the bouncy floor at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland.
It was so much fun.
Set list:
Camera Talk
World News
Warning Sign
Cards & Quarters
Sticky Thread
Wide Eyes
Shape Shifter
Stranger Things
Airplanes
Who Knows Who Cares
Encore:
Cubism Dream
Sun Hands
