Photo by Doug Van Pelt
April 26, 2013
The Lumineers
Sam Doores + Riley Downing & The Tumbleweeds
Jack Wilson
Austin360 Amphitheater at Circuit of The Americas
Austin, TX
I was plenty stoked to see this great big new venue in Austin, Texas (called The Austin 360 Amphitheater). The city of a million-point-three finally got one of those mid-size venues that’ll house between 3 and 10,000. (Don’t kill me if that’s not accurate. It’s like San Antonio’s Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. It can bring in a show like Ozzfest or a touring band that’s not exactly filling arenas but is far too popular for most clubs. This venue might keep Austin from being passed over from one big market (like Houston) to another (like Dallas). Even San Antonio used to get big-name acts (like Rush, for instance) over Austin due to the lack of a perfect-sized venue for the occasion.
I was well pleased to see the layout of the place. It’s hard not to be impressed with the Formula-One race track. The thing is massive. There’s grandstands around, a giant observation tower and big LED screens for racing stats during the events. I recently met a guy that works at the place and he told me that many of the artists ask if they can go for a drive on the track – and they get to enjoy such a ride. Must be nice.
The stage is huge and the field before it is nice and flat with a gentle slope going backwards – allowing for good viewing by most all present. I’m told it was a sold-out show and that 16,000 people were there. If that was sold out, the big grass field could easily fit in another thousand souls I’d guess (sorry for those left out), but it was a really big crowd.
This particular show started off with a local band that was making a big return to Austin. A couple of the guys from The Lumineers came out to the front of the stage to introduce their friends and a spirited set with many members ensued. If they were nervous, they didn’t show it, but you could tell they were plenty happy to be playing in Texas.
Photos by Doug Van Pelt
The frontman (whom I presume might be Jack Wilson) is quite the charismatic, somewhat melancholic-looking yet in-command frontman. Sporting a wifebeater and an Epiphone hollow-body guitar, he was flanked by a girl trumpet player on his far right and a girl background singer on his far left. In between was a steady drummer and a guitar player who knew well how to coax melody out of his electric guitar.
Sam Doores + Riley Downing & The Tumbleweeds was quite an ensemble, too, which felt like a front porch country jam. You had an upright bass on stage, a sweet pedal steel guitar, drums and a couple of acoustic guitars. It was more country than rock or pop, but the crowd was digging it and the band sounded good, relaxed and glad to be playing.
The Lumineers played under a very tall stage that was adorned with lots of beautiful old-time chandeliers. By the second song, where they confessed to “Nobody’s problems but my own,” they had the crowd swooning and completely in their back pocket. They could’ve switched to cruise control, but the energy between an appreciative audience and the quiet, moving melody of their songs kept everything moving along wonderfully.
Photos by Doug Van Pelt
They covered Bob Dylan song for their fifth tune, followed by “Dead Sea Song,” where one of the background vocalists took her turn at the cello. The drummer then came out front and played a solo kick drum, sang and played tambourine. The band was fun, melodic and soulful.
It was a rompin, stompin, “Ho!” and “Hey!” good time for band and audience. I think everyone present hopes they’ll be back for more.
Review and photos by Doug Van Pelt
Comments