Out of the Gorilla mist came musicians in retro leather jackets and brogues with neatly coiffed hair, armed with a washboard, harmonica and a… theremin? It’s not an inebriated Grease tribute act, it’s Lord Huron.
Opened by a matured, comically dry (and lovely) Radical Face, the Los Angeles-based indie band returned to the city last night as a quintuple.
And truthfully, while my favourite track Fool For Love was a damp squib after the absence of harmonies in an otherwise world-class chorus, they performed brilliantly to a polite, awestruck crowd.
Saw Lord Huron tonight. Made me want to be in a band all over again. If only I’d bought that leather jacket in 1996 pic.twitter.com/594BrQFZSA
— Andy Matthews (@beeftrousers) November 10, 2015
Highlights included Love Like Ghosts, Hurricane (Johnnie’s Theme), and of course, Way Out There, simply because of a beguiling theremin – an instrument controlled without physical contact.
Besides their electronic contraptions, Lord Huron made excellent use of all their guitars, striking the right synergy between lead, rhythmic, solo and bass, as they bathed in an ocean of reverb.
Vocally, lead singer Ben Schneider had a Western timbre as expected from a conventional folk indie band frontman, but he did it well.
Special mention also goes to the drummer Mark Barry, who, at times, went a bit Dave Grohl near the end with his dazzling solos.
Beautiful #StrangeTrails with amazing @LordHuron in Manchester pic.twitter.com/Qaa3h6EF2r
— natasa kokic (@kokicnatasa) November 10, 2015
A notable difference about this gig from other musicians was the distinct use of background fillers in-between numbers.
The usual sound of phatic talk was occasionally replaced by a combination of naturalistic sounds of wind, for example, or the monologue at the beginning of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.
It probably wasn’t that specific death-threatening speech, though it really did sound like it and I secretly wished it had been.
But all in all, a thoroughly enjoyable Tuesday outing.
Find their album Strange Trails here.
Image courtesy of Levi Manchak, with thanks.
