Local Natives rolled through Atlanta on Tuesday for their Spiral Choir Tour to a sold out show at Buckhead Theatre behind their latest album, Violet Street (April 26, 2019 via Loma Vista Recordings). The Los Angeles-based band has always seemed to create magic in Atlanta over the years. The band even spoke as much to the enthusiastic crowd, specifically referencing a show at the Tabernacle years ago where the floor was shaking during “Sun Hands”. That was one of those unforgettable concert moments for anyone who was there, but Local Natives were back this time to create new memories.
The band began the set with the transcendent opener on the new album, “Vogue”, a softer more delicate song that quickly captured the crowd’s attention. The second song though was the surprise. The band jumped right in with “Sun Hands”, the previously referenced song off of Local Natives 2010 debut album, Gorilla Manor. Traditionally, this is the song that is often reserved for more towards the end of the set, the closer where everyone loses their shit, and probably my personal favorite set closer I’ve personally seen live at that show at the Tabernacle (2013). The energy in the room quickly turned straight to pure fire on “Sun Hands” as Taylor Rice jumped into the crowd as he’s done so many times before.
It was an euphoric moment so early in the set, but now armed with material from four full length albums, that was just a taste of more to come. Local Natives played a 20 song set, including a 3 song encore mixing and matching songs from across their discography. Highlights from Violet Street included singles “Café Amarillo” and “When Am I Gonna Lose You” (main set closer), and deeper cuts like “Someday Now”, the big beats of “Shy”, and the captivating “Garden Of Elysian”. Just before playing hit single “Megaton Mile”, the band announced “this is a fun song about the apocalypse”, and then went into the song with a dance party beginning down in the pit. That moment when Taylor pleas “You said it was beautiful, As much as it was terrifying”, the crowd erupted into glee. It was the perfect song in the middle of the set, and the crowd let completely loose with the band on stage.
Of course a 20 song set over four albums just goes to show how many great songs the band has in their still relatively young career. “You & I”, “Ceilings”, “Coins”, “Past Lives”, “Airplanes” and, of course, “Wide Eyes” were set highlights bringing about sing alongs, screeching guitars, big drums and more moments that we will all remember.
Just before going into “Fountain Of Youth” from 2016’s Sunlit Youth, the band reminded the crowd that HeadCount was in attendance on this tour, and that they can help get everyone registered to vote. They also are partnering up with the Plus1 Foundation by donating a dollar from the ticket sales to support gender-based violence intervention and prevention programs, which for the Atlanta show went to the local Partnership Against Domestic Violence. “This is just a reminder that this is our world and we can make it what we want it to be” before starting into the song “I think we better listen to these kids, We can’t keep pretending”; “We can do whatever we want, We can say whatever we mean” quickly giving meaning that made sense to the crowd of why the band takes their stand with HeadCount. It was big, it was piercing, it was wonderous all the same.
One of the personal highlights for me occurred during the encore when the band played “Columbia” off of their 2013 album Hummingbird. Kelcey Ayer announced prior to the song it had been a “pretty shitty day” for him, but he just wanted the crowd to know that he appreciates them, and that “love is everything”, before going into one of the most stunningly beautiful and heartbreaking songs inspired by the passing of his mother. This is a song that gives chills and goosebumps that you can’t control as Kelcey and the band totally unleashes their emotions on stage.
That’s the moment right there, it’s hard not to get caught up in it. Kelcey and the band is putting everything they have into, as they always do throughout their sets, but the emotion of “Columbia” is almost impossible to deny. It was just damn perfect. Side note, as is too often the case, there is always those towards the back of the room that take the quite moments as a chance to chat, please please take the cue from the band and don’t ruin the moment. Luckily by the end as the song built into a much louder crescendo, the Buckhead crowd, even the worst offenders, couldn’t deny what was oozing off the stage. My notes on this song pretty much said it: “Gawt damn”.
For the last song, the band announced “if you guys know this song, that means you’ve been with us for a very long time, and we ask you to sing along” before jumping into “Who Knows Who Cares” off of their debut, 2010’s Gorilla Manor. That comment immediately gave me a chuckle as they said it for some reason; I mean at this point Gorilla Manor feels like an indie classic. Local Natives seemingly burst onto the scene early in their career, but here we are in Buckhead Atlanta, with a mixed crowd of all ages, races, lifestyles and more, with the whole crowd hanging on every chord, beat, and harmony, singing along and dancing through the night. You almost forget the impact that Local Natives have already left, and they are still building with each release. Heck, they will be back in September playing Music Midtown (September 14th & 15th at Piedmont Park) with huge artists from all different sorts of genres. If there is one thing you take from a Local Natives live show, it’s a reminder of just how absolutely brilliant this band is. They certainly left more memories with Atlanta once again.
At the end of the day, Local Natives is a band that has grown with each release, while still existing in a familiar realm, but continuing to experiment and throw in new mixes into their repertoire that only adds to their live experience. They leave it all out on the stage with each performance, while engulfing their audiences along the way, and advocating for a better world while they are at it. This is a band to get behind.
Opening the show was Sydney, Australia’s Middle Kids, who’ve earned plenty of hype since releasing their 2018 debut album Lost Friends in May: Triple J’s Australian Album of the Year, millions of streams, and worldwide tours including US network television and huge festivals. The band has already followed up with an excellent new EP, New Songs For Old Problems, released May 24th via Domino Recording Company. Led by lead singer Hannah Joy and her husband Tim Fritz, alongside Harry Day on the drums, Middle Kids mixes everything from alt-rock, to ballads, to blues, to folk, to pop anthems, into a blended rock and roll that’s every bit as consuming as Local Natives. Before the headliner actually took the stage, Middle Kids set felt as though they were the actual top billing, and there’s no doubt this is a band well on their way headlining these same stages as their current tour mates, around the world.
Check out photos from the show by Mike Gerry below:
Middle Kids @ Buckhead Theatre
Local Natives @ Buckhead Theatre
LOCAL NATIVES ONLINE:
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UPCOMING LOCAL NATIVES TOUR DATES
6/13 – SAN ANTONIO, TX @ The Aztec Theater
6/14 – DALLAS, TX @ House of Blues
6/15 – AUSTIN, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
6/17 – DENVER, CO @ Ogden Theater
6/19 – SAN DIEGO, CA @ North Park Theatre
6/20 – SANTA ANA, CA @ The Observatory SOLD OUT
6/21 – OAKLAND, CA @ Fox Theatre
6/22 – LOS ANGELES, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
6/28 – ATHENS, GR @ Summer Nostos Festival
7/21 – Wooyung, AU @ Splendour in the Grass
