Lotus | Irving Plaza | New York | 05.2012

Lotus | 05.10 – 11.2012 | Irving Plaza | New York, New York

Lotus Live at Irving Plaza, NYC

Words by: Michael Urban

Full photo gallery by Chris Paul below!

Irving Plaza welcomed Lotus fans from near and far this past week, playing Thursday, May 10th and a sold out show on Friday, May 11th. The small venue just seconds from Union Square in Manhattan (capacity 1,025) provided an intimate setting allowing fans to get an up close and personal view of the quintet from all positions in the ballroom. The stage barely fit the band and their lighting setup, but their proximity to each other and their fans only added to the energy of both evenings. Performing two stellar set lists, the band continues to impress even the oldest of fans. Over the last few years Lotus has endured relentless touring allowing them to climb the latter and earning them well placed set times making them the “king of late night” at festivals all across the country. Lotus has been blowing up before our very eyes, capturing the ears, hearts and minds of all music lovers. Their loyal fans (referring to themselves at the “Lotus Family”) rave of the musicians’ talent, but one cannot fully understand the greatness of their music until it is experienced in person.

Night one of their two night stint in the big apple opened with “Blacklight Sunflare”, a popular tune off their recently released self-titled album, Lotus. The crowd immediately erupted into a sea of happy bobbing heads and hands filled with glow sticks, and shouts of enthusiasm circled the room. Old fan favorite “Suitcases” followed, clocking in at an impressive 14 minutes. Their first set continued with the “Malabarista”, “It’s All Clear to Me Now”, “Spiritualize” and “Blender”. After a short set break, the boys started off with “We Are All Connected”, a tune with an infectious groove and classic guitar riffs delivered seamlessly by the one and only Mike Rempel. They then segued into the fan favorite “Nematode”, off their 2003 release Germination. They performed “Molluskunk”, a funky song off their self-titled album, highlighting newly returned percussionist Chuck Morris, which was followed by “Nonstop in San Francisco”. Lotus then paid respect to the late MCA Adam Yaunch (Beastie Boys) by performing an excellent rendition of “In 3’s” (off the Beastie Boys’ 1992 release Check Your Head) and their own “Lead Pipe”, a song featuring sound clips from Beastie Boys tune “Root Down”. The band finished up the second set with “Jump Off” and “Zelda”, before rejoining us on stage for “72 hours” and the monster closing “Harps” to finish off the nights encore.

“Their loyal fans (referring to themselves at the “Lotus Family”) rave of the musicians’ talent, but one cannot fully understand the greatness of their music until it is experienced in person.”

Lotus

Night Two’s sold out show blasted off with “Bubonic Tonic”, sending the crowd into a full-on dance party. The venue was much more packed than the night before, but the friendly vibes carried over from the previous night. Erupting into “Golden Ghost”, the band highlighted the beautiful romance between synthetic and organic music. Showing off a darker side, “Ashcon” (move your body!) sent chills up your spine with its mystical overtones. The first set continued with “Livingston Storm”, the debut of “Let Me In” and “Tarasque”, featuring lyrics from Bostonian hip hop artist Mr. Lif. The set ended with “Massif”, a song which debuted only a few months ago that amplifies the intense connection and practice of the three front men, Luke, Mike and Jesse.
Set two kicked it off with two much older songs, “Plant Your Root” and “Tip of the Tongue”, both songs sounding better than ever. The band turned up the funk with “Neon Tubes”, a song that left you feeling dizzy before the boys fulfilled fan wishes by performing “Moss Shoes”, the winning song of a poll given to fans on the band’s Facebook page before the event. Another shout out to the Beastie Boys with a cover of “Sabrosa” was a perfect segue into “Greet the Mind”, a song usually accompanied with a tempo change that drummer Mike Greenfield always seems to set perfectly. Set two closed out with “Break Build Burn” and the always impressive “Wax” which brought Jesse Miller to his knees as he slammed on his Mexican Fender Bass . The two nights were ended in perfection with an encore of “Disappear in a Blood Red Sky”, and “Bellwether”>“Umbillical Moonset”>”Bellwether”, an unbelievable ending to a tremendous performance in New York City.

Lotus 5.10.2012
Irving Plaza, New York

Set One
Backlight Sunflare, Suitcases, Malabarista, Its All Clear To Me Now >Spiritualize, Blender

Set Two
We Are Now Connected >Nematode, Molluskunk, Nonstop in SF, In 3s (Beastie Boys), Lead Pipe >Jump Off >Zelda

E: 72 Hours Awake, Harps

Lotus 5.11.2012
Irving Plaza, New York

Set One
Bubonic Tonic> Golden Ghost, Ashcon, Livingston Storm, Let Me In (debut), Tarasque, Massif

Set Two
Plant your Root> Tip of the Tongue, Neon Tubes, Moss Shoes**> Sabrosa (Beastie Boys) > Greet the Mind, Break Build Burn, Wax

E: Disappear in a Blood-Red Sky, Bellwether> Umbilical Moonset> Bellwether

**First time played since 10.06.2007

Photography by Chris Paul
C.rescent P.erspectives