At the end of each term, I assemble my to-do list of UK concerts for the vac, eager to spend my free time covering live performances. This summer, however, having finished my MPhil at Oxford and thus my time at the Blue, I spent the rainy summer days packing up my flat and watching episodes of Daisy Jones and the Six. Based on Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel of the same name, the show boasted a stacked cast of Riley Keogh, Sam Claflin, and Suki Waterhouse, among others. As a talented vocalist playing keys in the show, it was not long before I was scrolling through Waterhouse’s discography, listening to a new release (her feature on “NYE”) — a song by California-based indie rock band, Local Natives. Reminded of my long-time love of the band, yet still unable to replicate their harmonies, I was pleased to see that their U.S. tour coincided with my trip home. Perhaps I could cover one final set of shows for the Blue.
Thus begins the end of my time as the Blue’s Music Correspondent, with an incredible show from Local Natives in one of my favourite hometown venues, the House of Blues Cleveland.
Ryan Hahn and Taylor Rice on the guitars. Photo taken by Swathi Srinivasan at the House of Blues Cleveland, 9 September 2023.
The history of Local Natives begins in Orange County, CA with Tesoro High School students Taylor Rice and Ryan Hahn. Initially formed in 2001 as Cavil at Rest, Rice and Hahn (both singers and guitarists) soon welcomed keyboardist Kelcey Ayer, a senior at a local high school. Playing shows as college students, including opening for Jimmy Eat World in 2005, the group added bassist Andy Hamm in 2005, and drummer Matthew Frazier in 2006. By 2008, they had dropped the name Cavil at Rest and rebranded as the one and only, Local Natives.
Since their inception, the band has been in charge of their own writing, production, and artwork, gaining praise for their eclecticism and poignant lyricism across genres and decades. Even after Hamm’s departure in 2011, due to “unresolved differences,” and the 2013 addition of a new bassist, Nik Ewing, the band has maintained their originality, drawing people of various backgrounds to their audience. This was still evident 10 years later, from the very moment they took the stage in Cleveland.
Hahn, Rice, and Ayer harmonizing during the first song of the set. Photo taken by Swathi Srinivasan at the House of Blues Cleveland, 9 September 2023.
Met with loud cheers as they opened with a beautiful acoustic harmony of “Time Will Wait for No One” (TWWFNO), Rice, Hahn, and Ayer huddled around a mic as the band began with the first song off their newest album of the same name. Released in July 2023, TWWFNO brought in a slightly younger crowd to the House of Blues Cleveland than Local Natives may have known before. Yet, as the band continued with songs off TWWFNO, like “Just Before the Morning” and “NYE,” I watched as the all-ages crowd sang along. Aside from the braces-clad teens, you could not tell who had been familiar with the band in its earliest iterations, and who may have discovered them the day prior.
The band continued with “Megaton Mile” from their 2019 album Violet Street, followed by 2017 hit single “I Saw You Close Your Eyes.” As heads bobbed and bodies swayed, I closed my eyes and found myself doing the same. I felt at ease. Only after my shoulders relaxed had I realised they were tense — probably had been for months. Nothing like some California indie in your hometown venue to calm the nerves. Well, that and a break from uni. As “Coins” came on next, I let myself float into dreamland. I was 16 again, listening to Sunlit Youth on the floor of my childhood bedroom, at the beginning of an indefinite indie phase.
Local Natives perform on 9 September 2023. Photo taken by Swathi Srinivasan at the House of Blues Cleveland, 9 September 2023.
After “Paper Lanterns” from TWWFNO, a song that has not received the attention it deserves, the band gave a taste of its origins with “Airplanes” from their first album, Gorilla Manor. Released in the UK in 2009 and in the U.S. in 2010, Gorilla Manor is a testament to friendship. The album was named after the flat that all but Hamm shared in Orange County, where the majority of its songs were written. Filled with harmonies, Gorilla Manor remains a metaphor for the band’s style of music: personal, yet communal. I looked around as friends smiled and laughed, and lovers held hands and kissed. Almost 15 years later, though much has changed in the world, this warmth emanating from Local Natives’ music has remained.
The band continued with two songs from TWWFNO, until hitting the halfway point of their 22-song set. From here, it was a blast from the past, with an homage to their 2013 album Hummingbird, now in its tenth year. Songs like “You & I”, “Heavy Feet”, and “Ceilings” from Hummingbird and Gorilla Manor followed, as the younger crowd quieted and was replaced by an enthusiastic crowd of adults. As someone in the middle, I hummed along where I could (those harmonies are hard!). The band began its final few songs before the encore, including top hit “Dark Days”, and I sang along with the same angst my liberal teenage self had in 2016 (dark days, indeed).
By the time the encore rolled around, the crowd had thinned as a handful of attendees sought to avoid nearby traffic following a Cleveland Guardians baseball game. It was their loss. The band finished with something beautiful for everyone — songs from both TWWFNO and Gorilla Manor, respectively. Once they began their final song, the 2019 hit “When Am I Gonna Lose You?”, it was clear that the crowd that remained was on the same page. From the front barrier all the way to the upper stands, the audience — a room of friends — sang and swayed along.
It was then that I sent a little prayer to the universe. 10 years from now, when I’m back in my hometown, I’ll be sitting in the stands of the House of Blues Cleveland, a 30-something-year-old fan surrounded by friends, watching Local Natives perform an homage to TWWFNO. Maybe by then, I’ll have the harmony to “NYE” down.
A tambourine hangs from the mic as Matthew Frazier plays the drums. Photo taken by Swathi Srinivasan at the House of Blues Cleveland, 9 September 2023.
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