Chris gave us permission to share the pieces he wrote about the shows on his blog, and Mara has offered her photos from the Lincoln Center show in August to share. We hope you enjoy living vicariously through them as much as we did!
Intimacy; Intensity Define "Bellow" at Geneva's Smith Opera House
As utterly heartrending as he could be exuberant, Williams’ Tarzan leaps, flying clouds of sweat and brilliant musicianship could only be matched by the sheer talent of his counterparts. Brian Elmquist’s contributions were a powerhouse for much of the evening, mixing Carl Perkins-esque riffing(“Georgia Will”), intense leads(“Diners”), and aching gospel folk(“Watch Over Us”) into the group’s new songs, while Kanene Pipkin continues to be one of the most powerfully dynamic female vocals on the rustic side of indie music. She simultaneously commands and demands attention simply through her voice, and songs like “Button” and “You Don’t Love Me Like You Used To” shine because of it.
Combine that with their ability to be cued and attuned to one another, and I feel like intimate shows this powerfully bled out onto the stage are only going to become more rare for The Lone Bellow as they move onto their sophomore record and the popularity that will inevitably follow it. Someday I’ll have to say “I knew them when”, but as Sheryl Crow would say, for now “I’m gonna soak up the sun”.
The Lone Bellow became our music, our discovery so special that it’s become worthy of a movie like “Almost Famous”. Which is ironic considering that several months after the Bandshell came that hometown show for the trio at NYC’s Carnegie Hall, in which getting second row tickets (on that tip from Zach himself) landed us smack dab in the middle of a family reunion. Thanks to that one little conversation with him at the Bandshell, we went from what were simply good seats to a backstage meeting arranged by his mother and the six best words every obsessed music fan wants to hear, “don’t worry…. you’re with the mom”. It was in the span of this night that I think we actually lived a part of “Almost Famous”, and from then on… well, we’re gonna be forever tied to one of our favorite bands of all time.