Nadeem Salaam
(CMJ Live at Bowery Ballroom featuring Local Natives a set on flickr)
“Local Natives have been working on their highly anticipated sophomore album release titled: Hummingbird. Last night the band performed a few new tracks that are going to be on the album. All the photo’s are organized by Artist order last night: Solid Gold, Pacific Air, San Cisco, SKATERS
The night was complete! All the solid bands on this bill filled us with danceable fun music while some made us push the fun limit (is there one?) with their more edgier sounds. Now just about midnight, Bowery Ballroom had filled out even more, SKATERS got to enjoy that final rush of a packed house itching to see our beloved Local Natives, but overall all bands enjoyed a very enthusiastic concert. Everyone gave each of the acts some love.
Then as Local Natives took the stage to set up you couldn’t help but feel giddy seeing these guys again as people cheered every-time they moved a cable or tuned a guitar! They started off with two new songs back to back, it seemed clear this was the first time they were playing their new baby, and that to a sea of fans and media critics. They found a great tempo with classics like ‘Warning Sign’ ‘Airplanes’ and the epic ‘Who Knows Who Cares’. Halfway through their set they repeatedly thanked the audience for “indulging” us. Taylor Rice joked “eh, they’re alright”. It was here on after every new song they played melted from the energy they gave the audience from playing songs from their self-titled that could simply be described as cathartic.
On the new tunes: Some are a bit more contemplative, it’s clearly a “matured” sound, whatever you want to take from that, do, because it’s beautiful and the lush 4-part harmonies mixed with this slight contemplative vibe will in fact shake you a little. They came out after a beautiful set to play yet one more new track and finished with ‘Sun Hands’. The crowd went berserk during the guitar break down, hairs on end.”
Check out the footage from some friends I made from Consequence of Sound of new Local Natives tracks below:
“Ceilings”
“Heavy Feet”