photo credit: weworemasks

The last time Local Natives were in town, previous engagements kept me from attending, and after having seen them last night, I concluded that I’m probably not going to miss these guys ever again. Their live shows remains to be one of the most precise and engaging of most current bands, and it’s good to see them maintaining a fairly large fan base. They’re currently touring quite heavy in support of this past January’s Hummingbird, and stopped by Houston’s House of Blues Wednesday before they wrap things up.

Hit the jump for the review.

-grizzly


photo credit: weworemasks

A couple of years ago, Local Natives played a SXSW set at a cramped Stubbs BBQ on a 39 degree day. Keep in mind that this was in March, and having a 39 degree day in March is a bit freakish. The band was newer at the time, having just released Gorilla Manor a month prior. But the main thing I took away from the set was that the band adapted to the unfavorable conditions and managed to put on possibly the best set we had seen all week.

And while there were no unfavorable conditions at the House of Blues last night, the Natives were on the ass-end of a grueling tour schedule that they’ve been consumed with since the release of Hummingbird, which came out in January of this year. They’re playing their last shows in America, with a Texas stint holding its finale this weekend at Austin City Limits, before they head out overseas. And you know, there wasn’t an ounce of fatigue to be found on stage. Every member of the band was full-throttle, completely engaged and didn’t miss a step.

photo credit: weworemasks

Their sets remain to be generally flawless, and an 18-song setlist when you only have two albums to your name is bound to be crowd-pleasing at worst. Hitting the stage at around 10:15, the band came out to “Breakers” and a bevy of smoke, both from the fog machines and the weed-tokin’ crowd at House of Blues. The band was cheery, and as expected – heavily percussive. The addition of one floor tom can go pretty far when you’re putting on a festival-sized set in a House of Blues-sized venue, and songs like “Black Balloons” and “Airplanes” benefited greatly.

After getting weary of playing the same songs night in, night out, the Natives did what any self-respected band would do – rework and re-imagine some of their songs to spruce things up a bit. Songs like “Who Knows, Who Cares” and their cover of Talking Heads’ “Warning Sign” found themselves remixed entirely, all of which were met with beaming responses from the sold out crowd. And can you imagine these guys ending their set in a truly punk-rock fashion? Me neither, but “Sun Hands” landed on a blistering outro that sent everyone home higher than they were when they got there.

[ed. note: There was no photo pit, so I was forced to either fight my way to the front or sit pretty behind the soundbooth – I opted for the latter]

[SETLIST]

Breakers
World News
Wide Eyes
Warning Sign
Ceilings
You & I
Black Balloons
Shape Shifter
Mt. Washington
Wooly Mammoth
Black Spot
Camera Talk
Airplanes
Bowery
Who Knows, Who Cares
–
Colombia
Heavy Feet
Sun Hands