Los Angeles-bred Local Natives returned to Portland, Oregon on Thursday with a show that made the near three-year hiatus well worth the wait. With their sophomore album, Hummingbird, which dropped this past January, the boys soothed the sold out Crystal Ballroom with their signature lofty harmonies and hand-clapping tunes and an obvious emphasis on playing their newer material.
Local Natives has spent the greater portion of their 2013 tour with fellow LA band, Superhumanoids. Standing front and center was the petite and gosh-darn-adorable Sarah, whose timid looks proved to be deceiving once she opened her mouth to sing. The girl can sing and in such a unique way it’s difficult to classify. She’s a mix of Sinéad O’Connor falsetto with that iconic Bjork quirk. The threesome, plus their current touring drummer, let their ’80s reminiscent new wave sound set the mood for Thursday’s concert, luring the audience into a whirl of pinging dream pop.
Setting a new tradition for this tour, Local Natives stepped out onto the stage blasting David Bowie’s “Young Americans.” The boys hit the ground running with the haunting lyricism of “You & I.” The energy shift in the room was palpable as the audience’s attention zeroed in on the five young men. Local Natives has a well deserved reputation for putting on epic shows.
No one could have possibly left disappointed. It’s impossible to not feel as passionate about their music as they do when they jump around the stage, blindly maneuvering through amps and microphones. Taylor Rice, who covers vocals and guitar and is most recognized by his mustache, seems to rock out the hardest but hangs tight to his inner dancing spirit throughout the entire set. The energy stays consistent across all of the band members, each of them playing like their lives depends on it.
With a hefty set of 15 songs, Local Natives mixed the old in with the new, with noticeably more audience enthusiasm for Gorilla Manor‘s tracks. The emotionally fueled Hummingbird songs were very well received, particularly in the case of “Breakers” and “Heavy Feet,” both of which were released prior to the rest of the album.
Lead vocalist and keyboardist, Kelcey Ayer, sobered the room with “Colombia,” a tribute to his mother who passed away last year. Even if you didn’t know who the song was meant for, Ayer’s performance made it clear it was something close to his heart. The mood was lifted shortly after with the upbeat sounds of “Wooly Mammoth.” Putting Matt Frazier’s drumming in the spotlight, the song is frantic in the best sense. Quick, thumping drumbeats are the star of this song, with soaring guitar riffs and ethereal vocals to add some strategic layering.
Rice, who was excited to announce that his mother was one of the many heads in the crowd, introduced “Who Knows Who Cares” in her honor. An obvious fan favorite, the track wards off the ghosts of the unknown with a mocking reminder not to worry about the future.
“Sun Hands” closed the set and proved to be one of the most anticipated songs of the night as the crowd’s hands flew up into the air and bobbed in time with the beat. An extended version of the instrumental breakdown left the audience buzzing for more and even encouraged a stationary stampede atop the sprung floors of the ballroom as the boys retreated off stage. Complying with the requested encore, Local Natives reappeared, admitting they worried about the safety of the building after our foot-stomping. Rice continued on to say that they hadn’t planned for an encore. Maybe in an attempt to slow the heart rates of the concert-goers, the sailing harmonies and rhythmic drumming of “Shape Shifter” radiated across the crowd as the final track of the evening.
Despite the matured sound of their recent album, Local Natives is a simple band with no need for flashy effects or overproduced concerts. As Hummingbird suggests, these are flawed men — they aren’t perfect and sometimes they find themselves in dark places. Through life’s inconsistencies and its endless curve balls, the boys still have their music. Luckily for the rest of us, their music sounds pretty damn great.
Review by Sarabeth Oppliger
Photos by Gabriel Granach
