Photos: Lord Huron at the Hollywood Bowl
Staff Editor on
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Like the amiable protagonist in a Western dime novel, Ben Schneider led his mates in Lord Huron through a warm, cinematic night of the band’s noirish folk-rock on Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl.
Even if the Michigan native, who went west himself in 2005 to make L.A. his home, didn’t quite believe it himself. He recalled during Sunday’s show that when the band’s managers told him they’d been invited to play the Bowl, he responded, “Are you sure you heard that right?”
As Lord Huron went through songs from their three albums — 2012’s “Lonesome Dreams,” 2015’s “Strange Trails” and last year’s “Vide Noir” — he danced around the stage, taking on and off his hat. He tossed flowers into the crowd. He kept spirits high. He looked toward the far reaches of the Bowl and said, “How the hell you folks doing up there? We are having a party up here.” He introduced “The Night is Over” by saying, “This next song is very much about this city. I wrote it driving around here, which is the thing to do here.”
For the finale, the band brought out Phoebe Bridgers to sing the version of “The Night We Met” that was made for the “13 Reasons Why” soundtrack. The crowd gave L.A. native Bridgers a rousing welcome as the beautiful harmonies ended the night.
Texas native Shakey Graves preceded Lord Huron with a solo set that included a couple of funny stories, including one about moving to L.A. and inviting his first California girlfriend over to his apartment, after which she dumped him … something about roach-infested apartments. During “Dearly Departed,” he invited a friend, drag queen Trixie Mattel, on stage to sing the part of the originally recorded Esme Patterson.
British singer Yola opened the night with a 30-minute, crowd-pleasing set of songs from the new album “Walk Through Fire,” plus a cover of Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”
Lord Huron setlist: Love Like Ghosts, Meet Me in the Woods. Ancient Names Pt. 1, Dead Man’s Hand, Time to Run, Hurricane, The World Ender, She Lit a Fire, Wait By the River, Birds, Secret of Life, Emerald Star, When the Night is Over, Fleur, Pool for Love, Ancient Names Pt. 2. Encore: Ends of the Earth, The Night We Met
[…] witty banter and Nilssoneque songwriting worked especially well in these intimate shows, although he did succeed in seducing the whole of the Hollywood Bowl last year. His three-night L.A. residency was sold […]