The Head And The Heart showed up in fine form to their outdoor performance Friday night, projecting the soulful harmonies they are so famous for. The crowd was already warmed up by the nice weather, the view of a glowing capital and a commendable amount of casual drinking. This all added up to an unforgettable experience with a great touring band and one last taste of a Madison summer on MLK Blvd.
The band’s set pulled equally from their two studio albums, alternating between songs from Let’s Be Still, released in 2013, and their self-titled debut from 2010. What impresses me about The Head And The Heart is their ability to take great but low-key studio recordings and transfer them to the stage. Their performance style, at times, makes you want to raise your fist in the air, close your eyes, nod and await a mosh pit that’s never going to come during songs such as “Shake,” “Cats & Dogs” and “Homecoming Heroes.”
Their great stage presence was established immediately by the presence of vocalist Jonathan Russell, who takes on the role of front man in fan favorites such as “Lost In My Mind” and “Down In The Valley.” He had the confidence to come out in an outfit that could only be described as belonging to a carnival barker from the 1920s, one he would slowly strip away over the course of the show. Drummer Tyler Williams also aided in the rock feel of the show with his signature head banging and use of a maraca as a drumstick, proving that folk drummers can look just as cool as punk rock drummers if they’re dedicated enough to the role.
Joey Reuteman/The Badger Herald
The moments of spectacle were undercut with intimate performances that reflect the feel of the band’s albums, made possible by the harmonies that have come to define them. The combination of the soulful sound of Russell and Josiah Johnson with the more jazzy inflection of sole female member Charity Rose Thielen results in this unique harmony. They create a sound that seems to do justice to every single broken heart that has ever existed in the Seattle region, their home base. The band illustrated this during the performance of “Winter Song,” which silenced the Madison crowd for a brief moment.
Throughout the show, band members expressed their appreciation of the audience and the city in general, with Thielen singing the praises of Spotted Cow as the best beer in America. It’s a speech she gave the last time I saw them in Madison and, once again, it properly received one of the biggest applauses of the night from a proud audience.
Perhaps the coolest moment of the show, however, was when Russell came out for the encore and played a soft unreleased love song, asking the audience to break out their phones and tape the performance so the person who it was about could see it. It garnered a collective “awww” from every girl in the audience. Even I was little attracted to him at that moment, because, dammit, I’m a sensitive man and that request was adorable.
In the end there is very little that can go wrong when you combine good weather, good beer and live music. This is especially apparent when you remember that in a few months we’ll all be figuring out how to wear as little clothing as possible and survive the walk to a sweaty rave at the Majestic or Orpheum. The Head And The Heart gave us one last summer night Friday.
Joey Reuteman/The Badger Herald
