Lake Street Dive’s Englert performance shows growth, depth
Lake Street Dive returned to its hometown of Iowa City for a performance at the Englert.
A couple walks out of the Englert Theatre on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.
September 4, 2018
With hands on hips and disco balls shining from behind, Rachael Price greeted a sold-out Englert audience on Tuesday with a smile before kicking off Lake Street Dive’s set with the lead track from the band’s new album, Free Yourself Up.
After a two-year hiatus, Lake Street’s return to Iowa City was a showcase of the band’s growth in popularity and diversity. Following the success of its newest release, the band’s live show has greatly improved, with the new tunes falling seamlessly among the songs their fans grew to love.
“It’s special to play in front of the people who have followed us from the beginning,” said Bridget Kearny, the band’s bassist and Iowa City native. “It’s great to bring the new songs on tour while putting in the songs that people recognize.”
Before the release of the new album, the band gained a new member, Akie Bermiss (keyboards).
“Having Akie in the studio eliminates one of us having to record the keys later,” Kearney said.
Bermiss has changed the live production of songs previously recorded by the band. His vocal and instrumental abilities provide a catalyst for the band members as they revitalize their older tunes.
“What you do know is that he’s a great keyboard player,” Price said, introducing Bermiss mid-set. “What you don’t know is that he’s a great singer. I’m going to make him sing a song for y’all.”
Bermiss went on to take the lead from Price, and his performance evoked the biggest response from the crowd to that point.
Following the ballad from Bermiss, Price took center stage to introduce one of the songs from the new album, “Shame, Shame, Shame.”
“We hope that our music can support some kind of change,” Price said.
During the songwriting for the new album, the band members came together in collaboration instead of tackling the project individually, a process that was foreign to them during the production of their previous works.
“Lyrically, the dimension that came into play that hasn’t before is politics,” Kearney said. “We didn’t want to preach on-stage or become ‘that band’; maybe that’s why we haven’t in the past.”
Aside from “Shame, Shame, Shame,” other tracks that embody the band’s newfound message include “I Can Change” and “Hang On.”
Lake Street’s performance concluded with an encore in which it recreated its 2017 Halloween video release, “BOOhemian Rhapsody.” The solo introduction from Price was followed by a thunderous applause from the crowd.
The conclusion provided a casual ending to a show that demonstrated the band’s diversity in its new music.
James Tutson and the Rollback loosened up the crowd for Lake Street. The local group’s set proved energetic from the start, without much feedback from an Englert audience that wanted the feature act.
“I didn’t come on stage thinking we were going to blow them away,” Tutson said. “We just wanted to put together a good set.”
Tutson and his band did just that, and fans began to appreciate it toward the end of the performance.
The gospel singer has applied his solo works to his new five-piece band that has an album due within the next year.
The band’s performance was strikingly well-rehearsed, demonstrating ability well-beyond its lone solo album, Hope (recorded at Flat Black Studio).
