Greeted with one of the longest queues I’ve ever come across, Greenpoint Park had concert attendees shaken with anticipation for American folk outfit’s second visit to the Mother City. Once past the assemblage of luminescent-orange security after the organisers abandoned their initial ticket-scanning system to speed things up a bit, it wasn’t at all challenging to get a fantastic view of the band’s remarkably energetic show.
Having just gotten back from a show in Canada, openers Early Hours exhibited anything but a relaxed, diluted dynamic. Their performance of hits ‘Smells Like Summer’, ‘Into The Wilderness’ and ‘Dance Along’ made it easy to see why The Lumineers decided to add them to Cape Town’s line-up.
After being shortlisted by a public vote and later confirmed by The Lumineers’s frontman Wesley Schultz, alternative indie up-and-comers Opposite The Other truly engulfed the ever-growing crowd. Frontman Sam Burger’s powerfully-controlled vocals and drummer Robbie Spooner’s breathtaking fills had me transfixed, not to mention all members seemingly spontaneously swapping instrumental roles. Crowd interaction remained consistently notable throughout their set, particularly evident in the audience’s anthemic ensemble of fan favourite ‘Stutter Love’.
With the field now immensely concentrated, flocking towards the stage became increasingly urgent for most. Although attendance was impressive it really was a pleasure to be able to stand anywhere and consistently maintain a solid view. The Lumineers weren’t playing around, and jumped straight into Cleopatra’s ‘Sleep On The Floor’. With phenomenal lighting, sound and an infectious energy, the first song alone was undoubtedly a spectacle to behold.
Being on their latest album’s world tour but having debut album fan favourites, I was curious about their setlist’s composition this time round. Thankfully, Schultz and co. delved deep into both albums extensively, from explosive performances of ‘Flowers in Your Hair’ and ‘Dead Sea’ to ‘Ophelia’ and ‘Angela’. Schultz often took some time to acknowledge the underlying premise of a few songs, most notably that of ‘Charlie Boy’, an ode to a relative in war believing “words of a leader that mattered to him,” and ‘Gun Song’, a story about Schultz discovering a revolver in his deceased father’s sock drawer, provoking questions he’ll never get the answers to.
After expressing their gratitude for coming back, The Lumineers marched straight forward into the sea of fans, eventually onto a small stage right in the middle. The band’s exhibition of ‘Where The Skies Are Blue’ and Bob Dylan’s ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ up close was without a doubt my favourite moment of the evening. Returning to the main stage, Fraits performed a few remarkably enticing tracks solo, with the band later covering an impressive concoction of ‘Big Parade’ and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain?’. Not without leaving out ‘Ho Hey’ and ‘Stubborn Love’, the folksmiths bid their farewells to an overwhelmingly grateful audience.
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