REVIEW: The Lumineers light up Chase Center with ‘Brightside’

The Lumineers

The Lumineers perform at Chase Center in San Francisco on Aug. 3, 2022. Gary Chancer/STAFF.

SAN FRANCISCO — Colorado folk rockers The Lumineers brought their Brightside Tour—and an all Coloradan lineup—to a near-capacity Chase Center Wednesday.

Their 20-song set was a celebration of raw and bare-knuckled music for the soul. Kicking off with “Brightside,” the title track to their latest album, Wesley Schultz, Jeremiah Fraites and co. quickly launching into “Cleopatra.” Schultz (guitar) and Fraites (drums) deftly lead the six-member ensemble, including Brandon Miller, Stelth Ulvang, Byron Isaacs and violinist Lauren Jacobson.



The Lumineers

the Lumineers perform at Chase Center in San Francisco on Aug 3, 2022.

The crowd sang along to hits from the Lumineers’ first three albums like “Ho Hey,” “Cleopatra,” “Angela” and “Sleep on the Floor.”  The set design was gorgeous and multifaceted with projection screen, brightly lit and colorful massive artistic piece reminiscent of the hammers and strings inside of a piano and string lights of changing colors woven in between the instruments.

Schultz expressed adoration for the City, reminiscing about playing places like Cafe du Nord and Amnesia prior to their massive success.

“When we released our first album, we never believed we’d ever play in an arena!” he shouted. The crowd roared.

Schultz continued to interlace storytelling between the music, recounting a harrowing experience with a near-fatal, rollover car crash while roadtripping in Arizona with his then-fiance (now wife) before launching into “Where We Are.” The set ended with a pyrotechnic explosion of confetti during “Big Parade” before Schultz invited singer-songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov back to the stage for a reprise of “Remington.”



Gregory Alan Isakov

Gregory Alan Isakov performs at Chase Center in San Francisco on Aug. 3, 2022.

Fellow Coloradan Gregory Alan Isakov was backed by a five-member band, including a banjo player, and performed favorites like “San Luis,” “Southern Star” and “Caves.”

Daniel Rodriguez kicked off the show with a stark, acoustic set featuring songs from his debut album, Sojourn of a Burning Sun. The singer-songwriter and former member of folk band Elephant Revival sang in a soulful tenor voice that rang through the arena.

 

 

Follow Mel Bowman at Twitter.com/melmichel and Instagram.com/coco_michel_coco

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