Lotus Blooms Even in Late November | T5 | NYC | 11.30.2013

Lotus Blooms Even in Late November

Words By:  Jeanne Bettencourt

Photos By: Chris Paul

Photo Cred: Chris Paul aka C.rescent P.erspectives

As a huge fan of the band, it’s rare that I have a negative thing to say about Lotus, which strains my credibility as an unbiased critic.  On the other hand, because I am such a huge fan, I have a large catalogue of shows to draw from to compare and contrast, and my knowledge of what I am witnessing only enhances my experience.  So when I say that Lotus sounded amazing and put on an incredible display of musicianship at their most recent show at Terminal 5 in New York, I do have some idea of what I am talking about.  The boys have been on fire since percussionist Chuck Morris rejoined the band, and continue to impress fans and non-fans alike.  Below is their set list from the show; keyboardist/guitarist/songwriter Luke Miller prepares each set, and his song selections are always perfect for the crowd they are playing for.  For this particular occasion, there was a pretty even mix of hardcore fans and the casual passer-by, and there was a little something for everyone:

It’s evident that the boys have been listening to their diehard fans – as they head down a much funkier, more jam/jazz oriented path than their harder, electronic years, they have been reintroducing and reinventing songs from the early days.  Their newer material (Monks, Build) leans heavy on the synthetic side, but if you compare the performance ratio of newer songs to older, fan favorites (Terminal 5 the ratio was 6:11, and that’s considering ‘Lead Pipe’ a newer song), it’s clear that they have been favoring an earlier sound, or performing newer tunes that allow them to really mess around with the improvisation.  Personally, I think this has a lot to do percussionist Chuck Morris’ recent return in 2011 – his presence allows them to play certain songs in their entirety.  For example, the song ‘Wax’ wasn’t performed for a very long period of time until Morris rejoined them on stage.  His contribution to songs like this (specifically the xylophone) make the songs sound much fuller and as a whole make them sound more like a jamband.  I believe the fact that they have been able to reestablish these classics has sent them down a different path than recently expected (songs off of ‘Lotus’ and ‘Build’ are much more structured in comparison to earlier albums such as ‘Germination’ or ‘Nomad’, especially when played live) and the next generation of material will be jam oriented and hopefully as experimental as they have sounded recently.

The grouping of songs this past weekend was stellar – both sets and the encore paired emotion and beauty with funky, extremely danceable beats.  The first set hit its high notes during ‘Shimmer and Out’ and ‘Tip of the Tongue’, with a particularly hard-rocking jam during ‘Tip’.  They closed the set with Earth Wind and Fire cover ‘Shining Star’, confusing the crowd at first (there were several ‘WTF?’ looks being shot around) but it didn’t take long for them to get the song and room into a special kind of groove.  Luke Miller also busted out his signature auto-tune vocals (as featured in songs like ‘Bellwether’ and ‘Strawberry Letter 23’), which is always entertaining and a treat to watch.

The second set included some very popular fan favorites with ‘Wooly Mammoth’, ‘Lead Pipe’, ‘Greet the Mind’ and ‘Spiritualize’.  ‘Lead Pipe’ was especially hard-hitting, with a perfect segue into the ever mind-bending ‘Greet the Mind’.  The set closed with ‘Spiritualize’, setting the stage for an extremely beautiful and touching encore – ‘Behind Midwest Storefronts’ was evidently thrown in impromptu (not on the originally planned set list) before ‘Colorado’ and finally closing out the evening with ‘What Did I Do Wrong’.  Both ‘Storefronts’ and ‘Colorado’ are slower and emotionally objective, and were gorgeously done.  They didn’t leave us all in tears, however; rather they turned the heat back up during ‘What Did I Do Wrong’, getting the crowd moving for one last time.

Musically, it was a very moving, original and impressive experience.  Terminal 5 is also an extremely cool venue with three floors (ground floor and two wrap around balcony floors) as well as a roof deck for smoking that also included a bar.  The only complaint I had was a number of attendees seemed either disinterested in the music or just sloppy intoxicated to the point where they were disturbing my concentration on the show (it takes a certain kind of sloppiness to impress me too, ask any of my friends who have seen me get rowdy).  I have felt this way every time I’ve seen Lotus play in NYC, but fortunately the strange mix of people in the crowd had absolutely no effect on the band’s vibe or performance.  Overall, it was a great time with some amazing people and even better music.

Photo Cred: Chris Paul aka C.rescent P.erspectives

Photo Cred: Chris Paul aka C.rescent P.erspectives

Photo Cred: Chris Paul aka C.rescent P.erspectives

Photo Cred: Chris Paul aka C.rescent P.erspectives

Photo Cred: Chris Paul aka C.rescent P.erspectives

Photo Cred: Chris Paul aka C.rescent P.erspectives

Photo Cred: Chris Paul aka C.rescent P.erspectives

Photo Cred: Chris Paul aka C.rescent P.erspectives

Photo Cred: Chris Paul aka C.rescent P.erspectives

Photo Cred: Chris Paul aka C.rescent P.erspectives