“May you live until you die,” said Lord Huron’s Ben Schneider before his last song. A phrase that can be interpreted as another "live everyday like it's your last" or "carpe diem." But after taking the journey through the musical and cinematic universe of Lord Huron, their music could serve as your life’s personal background soundtrack for all the moments good and bad till, well, you die, I guess.
Lord Huron’s show at the Bowl kicked off their first leg of the “Cosmic Selector Tour,” in support of their recent album The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1. The album itself melds storytelling with lush indie-folk and energetic rock. The live show was inspired by western-noir aesthetics featuring illuminating vintage props along a projected star-filled sky. Schnieder greeted the crowd, “How’ve you been? You look good. Time’s been good to you. Not true for all of us, but you guys look good. We’re happy to be back on tour and well first and foremost. From all of us here on stage to each and everyone of you out there, thank you.”
The night began with, “Who Laughs Last,” a surf-rock-inspired record featuring spoken word verses from actor Kristen Stewart. Foreshadowing the crossover of theatrical elements, such as the two characters, dressed in 1960's attire, who supported the transitions between songs during the show by dancing around the stage. “It really means the world to us that you're here. … The first act of our show finds our beloved cast of characters in strange and unfamiliar territory … Santa Barbara. How about an old familiar tune to ease our troubled minds,” said Schneider. He performed “Ends of Earth” off the band’s 2021 album Lonesome Dreams. The show’s setlist spanned across over a decade of the band's catalog.
The song “Secret of Life" from the 2018 album Vide Noir, made use of one of the coolest ways to use a stage prop during a performance — using a pay phone as the mic. Whenever Schnieder waltzed over to his pay phone during the performance, which was in the middle of the stage design, his face suddenly appeared on the screen in an array of light beams. His voice over the distorted static felt made songs feel more intimate and grounded. It made me listen as best as I could to the lyrics, reminding me as if I were trying to make out what someone was saying over the phone while barely hearing them.
Lord Huron's showed their range with the ability to revert from acoustic indie-folk to twangy surf rock to melancholic nostalgia. Highlight songs played throughout the rest of the night were, “Wait by the River,” “Meet Me in the Woods,” and the certified platinum number one hit with more than 3.7 billion plays on Spotify, “The Night We Met.”
A healthy four song encore performance featured, “The World Ender," “Nothing I Need,” “Not Dead Yet” and the live debut performance of “It All Comes Back."
Lord Huron's Bowl show felt like a drive through the desert with nowhere to be but the present moment. Their songs blended the feelings of timeless adventures, deep self reflection, and a rooted belief that life is meant to be fully lived, not simply just passed through.