Where : Shepherd's Bush Empire
When : 15th June 2010
Nights like these are ones Local Natives will surely cherish for years to come. With the sun beginning to drop on a balmy summer’s day, the California quintet kick off their first Shepherd’s Bush Empire headline set to almost a full house. It may not quite be the West Coast of America, but they look more than at home under the bright lights tonight.
With their usual vigor and verve they splice through hits from superb debut Gorilla Manor, front man Taylor Rice throwing himself around the stage in frenetic fashion whilst hitting every note in the process. As usual the harmonies are rich and irresistible, delighting the ever expanding crowd.
Despite the growing magnitude of the evening, there is an assuredness about Local Natives, a sense of belonging to accompany the evident excitement.
From energetic Talking Heads cover “Warning Sign” to the more thoughtful “Shape Shifter”, each element is perfectly formed and executed to a tee. Rice and Hahn’s guitars intertwine in glorious accord, supported by bold percussion and those delicious three part harmonies. In their vast numbers the crowd plays their part, returning every word with gusto, the marvelous “Airplanes” in particular lifting the volume to fever pitch.
As they end the encore with billboard hit “Sun Hands”, there could not be a better finish to an inspired evening, yet it is their final billed track that best sums up tonight.
“Last July we opened up here for Of Montreal, and less than a year later we’re back playing our own show”, exclaims Kelcey Ayer. “It’s just amazing, thank you so much. This is “Who Knows, Who Cares”.
Amazing it might be, but after such a superlative defying performance, it is unquestionably deserved.
Words : Dan Grose
Write a comment
- Required fields are marked with *.
-->