The Iron Horse was buzzing Wednesday evening with all eyes on Lake Street Dive, a jazzy pop group from Boston. Four very talented musicians from all over the country, came together at the New England Conservatory mixing together with incredible balance and flow. Lake Street Dive is an equal-gender band with a fun loving image, a jazzy tone and pop roots.
Girl, Guns, and Glory, an Americana blues group provided the opening support for Lake Street Dive. Ward Hayden on guitar and vocals, Justin Maxwell on bass, Chris Hersch on the electric guitar and Mike Calabrese, drummer of Lake St., are a classy bluesy group that is entertaining to watch. Dressed in old school suits, they performed engaging songs including the ballad “Soft Raccoon” which told a story with an epic drum solo and multiple electric guitar jams. They had a groovy, folksy sound that had the crowd tapping to the beat.
Lake St. opened with strikingly beautiful, happy sound. The band connected with each other easily, as if they had been playing together for a long time and they had love for the same music. A unique array of instruments, including a trumpet and an upright bass, created an interesting atmosphere and drew smiles from the crowd. They played many songs off their most recent album, released in November, self-titled “Lake Street Dive.” The show’s better tracks included “Miss Disregard,” “Henriette,” “The Neighbor Song,” and “Hello? Goodbye?” which the band played with enthusiasm and grace.
Right away, the crowd was amazing by Rachael Price’s incredible voice. It fit so smoothly and with the sound of the band and adding a little funk to their tunes. Bubbling with personality, Price delivered a performance that was so fun to watch, full of exciting body language and connection to the other band members.
Lake St. is a band full of multi-talented musicians working together in a visual chemistry with one another. Full of life and energy, this group of four is meant to make music together. “None of us are dating,” joked Mike Olson to the crowd during the show.
Olson swapped between jamming on the electric guitar to spitting his sound through the trumpet until he was on his tiptoes. His talent on the trumpet was more than memorable and his great skill to play softly and giving a full crescendo until his sound filled the room was truly an audio experience.
Bridget Kearney, composer of many of Lake St.’s songs, tackled an upright bass twice the size of her. In mind blowing solos, she plucked faster than eyes could follow as the crowd went wild for her. Kearney and drummer Calaprese kept an upbeat pace throughout the concert.
Lake St. was rewarded with a standing ovation and a call for an encore, in which they returned with a rendition of Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” and had the entire Iron Horse singing along to the chorus. Their encore finished off a night of sweet, simple rhymes, and pleasant feelings.
Lake Street Dive is an awesome band, full of great people and talented musicians. They’ve got a good outlook on life and it comes through in the good vibes of their songs. This band is an easy listen and a must see live.
Wednesday was Lake Street Dive’s first time to Northampton, but it should not be its last.
They decided at the end of the night, “We will definitely be returning to the Iron Horse.”
Mandy Pote can be reached at [email protected].
