Kevin Bronson on January 21st, 2018

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“It’s like it’s 2003 again,” Maria Taylor said Saturday night with a smile, earning cheers from the capacity crowd at the Lodge Room. The occasion was the first show in more than five years by Azure Ray, the duo she and Orenda Fink founded in the early 2000s. They released four albums in that decade, the last two on Saddle Creek, and the DNA of that Omaha label was present all over the room Saturday.

Azure Ray opened with one of their best-known early songs, “Sleep,” with much of the front row smiling and mouthing the words. Taylor took a break to marvel at the beauty of the new venue — and how close it was to where she and her husband live. Not so convenient for Fink, who came in from Omaha for the show, where Azure Ray were joined by a full band and string trio.

Whispertown opened the night, with Morgan Nagler breaking after a couple of songs to ask the crowd who had attended the Women’s March. The answer: plenty of cheers. Greta Morgan joined the band to guest on a few songs before Whispertown gave way to the Elected, back in action after a period of inactivity themselves. They ended with Blake Sennett and Mike Bloom doing two acoustic numbers that hushed the room.

Azure Ray setlist: Sleep, Don’t Make a Sound, On and On Again, Beautiful Things Can Come From the Dark, Displaced, Safe and Sound, Don’t Leave My Mind, I Will Do These Things, Drinks We Drank, Hold On Love, Rise. Encore: If You Fall, Trees Keep Going, November

Photos by Jessica Hanley