The Lumineers, tour review: Rootsy rock and old-style stomping tunes

If the Denver-based trio stand apart from more fashionable contemporaries, it’s obviously to their benefit, says Andre Paine
Old fashioned, and all the better for it: The Lumineers
Andre Paine7 November 2016

“I’d like to make a deal with you out there,” said Wesley Schultz, as folk-rock chart-toppers The Lumineers prepared to perform the hit Ho Hey early in their Apollo set.

The singer and guitarist allowed the audience to film them playing their signature anthem with the strict condition: “After that, can we all agree to put our phones away?”

It was a welcome move from a band who could do without the glare of smartphones intruding on their old-style stomping tunes. With shoulder-length hair under his fedora, Schultz even looked like a frontman from the Seventies.

If the Denver-based trio, expanded to a six-piece on stage, stand apart from more fashionable contemporaries, it’s obviously to their benefit. The Lumineers’ rootsy rock was endlessly entertaining, as each member demonstrated an impressive versatility.

Schultz’s songwriting partner Jeremiah Fraites was on drums, but also sang at the front of the stage as well as playing a glockenspiel on the hushed, unplugged Darlene. Cellist Neyla Pekarek added lovely harmonies throughout.

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Ophelia and the electrifying Cleopatra were all the more rousing for their no-frills renditions, although Schultz also had some tricks up his sleeve. As well as a thrilling cover of Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues, he inserted a subtle Hillary Clinton endorsement into Big Parade.

By the wailing encore of Stubborn Love, Schultz had to lay down the law again. “Put those cell phones away for me,” he demanded. For once, you had to sympathise with the phone-wielding fans who wanted to capture this barnstorming finale.

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