When The Lumineers released their fifth studio album, Automatic, on Feb. 14, I wrote a review for The Michigan Daily that wasn’t exactly a rave. I wrote that the album was maybe a half-formed critique on the digital age, maybe a collection of heartbreak songs or maybe just an album attempting to keep up with the rise of new folk-pop artists. I struggled to understand what Automatic was trying to accomplish. I enjoyed their previous works, which braided stories of family, love and grief together through lyricism, but I found the new album uninteresting and lacking cohesion. Thankfully, I can’t say the same about their performance on Sep. 13 at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan.
There seemed to be a concert-attendee uniform: People in cowboy boots, flower crowns and long white skirts milled about Comerica Park. Following two different opening acts, The Backseat Lovers and Chance Peña, the crowd waited as the sun dipped below the Tigers sign. A duo composed of vocalist Wesley Schultz and drummer Jeremiah Fraites, The Lumineers began their show with the persistent drums of “Same Old Song.” Fraites wore his tried-and-true concert uniform: black pants, a white shirt, suspenders and a black fedora. He once referred to this outfit as his superhero costume — one that helps him get into character and ease stage fright. Schultz, however, embraced Detroit and sported a Tigers jersey with his last name emblazoned across the back. With everyone in the crowd receiving a light-up bracelet, the stadium glowed with the digital colors of the Automatic album cover: white, yellow, green, purple, red and blue stretched across the crowd. While I still don’t consider “Same Old Song” to have their strongest lyricism, Schultz’s voice was just as rich and emotion-driven live as in recording.
The crowd livened with the start of “Flowers in Your Hair” from The Lumineers’ self-titled debut album. The upper bowl shook with the thump of stomping boots as fans sang, “Be in my eyes / And be in my heart.” Schultz’s voice was warm and the sounds of guitar and piano were balanced. I found the rest of the band’s performance, especially that of Neyla Pekarek on the cello, to be incredibly moving live. During “Big Parade,” Pekarek’s strings held such a pretty and vibrant quality that recording devices just couldn’t catch. Throughout the show, I heard fans belt songs from old albums, like The Lumineers, Cleopatra, III and even BRIGHTSIDE, but quieted down during Automatic tracks. The tour is called the Automatic World Tour and celebrates their newest album, and yet, it seemed that fans only really showed up for the chance to hear older albums live. The audience was especially delighted when the beloved Tigers mascot, “Paws,” bounced onstage with a tambourine and danced to “Ophelia.” But it wasn’t just radio hits like “Ophelia” that fans responded to — it was anything from earlier albums: “Charlie Boy,” “Donna” and “A.M. RADIO” to name a few.
Out of the 26 songs The Lumineers performed, 19 weren’t from Automatic. Schultz and Fraites have been recording music since 2012, and evidently, their repertoire remains relevant to a wide audience 13 years later — that’s an impressive feat. So, when Schultz paused during “Dead Sea” and said he needed a little help from a friend to finish the song, I leaned forward and squinted at the jumbotron from the nosebleeds. The crowd exploded, screaming and cheering so loud I struggled to hear what Schultz said. A father and daughter sat to the right of me, and I heard her explain to him with a shout, “IT’S NOAH KAHAN!” Fraites cut through the noise and said, “This man needs no introduction; this is Mr. Noah Kahan and he’s gonna help us sing this song.”
I was genuinely surprised. I’ve seen several shows in Detroit, and because the city isn’t Chicago, New York or Los Angeles, fans are rarely granted top-charting surprise guests. Grabbing the mic next to Schultz’s, Kahan continued the second verse: “You told me you were good at running away / Domestic life, it never suited you like a suitcase.” His voice rang out with emotion and a slight rasp; the crowd was ecstatic. Schultz, Kahan, and fans all sang, “You told me I was like the Dead Sea / You’ll never sink when you are with me.”
Bringing Kahan onstage was a smart move by The Lumineers; I think it’s safe to say that if a fan would attend a Lumineers concert, they would probably go to a Kahan concert too. Leading the current folk-pop space which The Lumineers once dominated, Kahan is popular with the same audience that listens to The Lumineers. The concert closed with “Stubborn Love,” with Kahan singing the line, “It’s better to feel pain, than nothing at all / The opposite of love’s indifference.”
While I still don’t believe Automatic to be The Lumineers’ strongest work, that opinion didn’t detract from the experience of their show. Schultz announced that this year marked 20 years of him and Fraites making music together, and their comfortable stage presence and seamless performance proved that. If they’re attempting to keep up with the increasing rise of folk-leaning artists, The Lumineers might return to and expand on their previous narrative-driven works. But it’s likely that longtime fans will show up regardless.
Daily Arts Writer Carly Anderson can be reached at carlyand@umich.edu.
