- Mitch West
Lake Street Dive at the Orpheum Theatre 11.14.23 Photo Credit: @thatonemitchkid
It was an easy-going magical night in Omaha, NE at the Orpheum Theatre when the multi-genre band Lake Street Dive brought their 'Gather Round Sounds Tour' along with special guest singer-songwriter and Wisconsinite Monica Martin to town. It was a magical night with hardly any cell phones in sight. I didn't intend that to rhyme but the night was indeed very poetic. We've all been to shows where everyone watches the performance through their phones not living in the moment, this wasn't one of those shows. The majority of those in attendance last night soaked it all in and lived in that moment grooving in the isles at times. Last night it wasn't just the artists that were in harmony, but everyone.
Monica Martin at the Orpheum Theatre 11.14.23 Photo Credit: @thatonemitchkid
"Omaha you're my people!" she said after getting on stage. Monica Martin is from Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin and has a voice that warms the soul. The setup was simple, just Monica Martin and her guitar player she's known for quite sometime and has a million names which is all it needed to be. Between songs, she opened up to the audience about her mental health struggles and recent autism diagnosis. Her honesty, valuableness, and sarcasm connected the audience even more to her music which was perfectly balanced and filled with tight harmonies and honest moments. She weaved past songs and newer music in and out of her set along with her latest single 'A Song for You' recently released in September of 2023. One of my favorite highlights was her performance of 'Say' a song we all can feel and relate to filled with lyrics of the things we wish we would of or could have said about that special someone. "I'm happy about writing songs," she said before ending her powerful set with my favorite song 'Go Easy, Kid' that came out in 2021 with another version featuring the legendary piano work and vocals of James Blake. While we wait for her first album to be released she has a new Christmas EP coming out called 'Hark!' just in time for the holidays this Friday, November 17th. Following this tour she starts off the next year performing at Brandi Carlile's Girls Just Wanna Weekend 2024 in Playa del Carmen at Barcelo Maya Beach on January 18th and featuring for Corry Wong at Emo's Austin in Austin, Texas on February 3rd, House of Blues in Dallas, Texas on February 4th and at the Mission Ballroom in Denver, CO on February 10th.
Lake Street Dive at the Orpheum Theatre 11.14.23 Photo Credit: @thatonemitchkid
When Lake Street Dive got on stage they immediately welcomed you into their world very reminiscent of a dive bar hence the name 'Lake Street Dive'. The band got its start in Boston, Massachusetts forming in 2004 but now calls Brooklyn, New York home and is comprised of Rachael Price (Vocals, trumpet), Mike Olson (guitar, vocals), Bridget Kearney (bass, vocals), Akie Bermiss (keys) and Mike Calabrese (drums). I say they're a "multi-genre" band because they really can do it all and much of their music is packed full of jazz, folk, country, blues, soul, R&B, bebop, even hip-hop and rock. Their performance is tight and for good reason, lots and lots of practice. They are pros at what they do and It showed. If they didn't get something right they had no shame in restarting. Absolutely loved that. Their set was split into different parts often having the bringing the crowd in close even having them interact at times when they played their 2014 single 'Seventeen' having a back and forth between the audience. During their set, they gathered centered stage off and on throughout the night splitting off and filling the stage other times bouncing from a more acoustic performance to a semi-acoustic one playing songs new and old including their two new singles 'Neighbor Song' featuring Madison Cunningham and a cover of 'Can't Help Falling' featuring Monica Martin. Halfway through the show, they drew names of songs attendees submitted pre-show. In that that moment you felt as if you were in the studio with them or jam space. You were welcomed into their home. Some of the picked songs they haven't performed in a while or weren't originally a part of their set. One of which was their cover of the Daryl Hall & Joan Oates song 'Rich Girl' that they released in 2012. For their encore, they brought Monica Martin back out to end the night in an even more memorable way. The Gather Round Sounds Tour continues for two more dates: tonight November 15th in Kansas City, MO at the Midland Theatre and ending November 17th in Dallas, Texas at the Winspear Opera House.
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