Anybody who has spent quality time in the North Country and enjoys a bit of live music has heard of Lucid. Their vibrant and multi-faceted musical capacity is enough to make anybody stop for a listen. The band of six celebrated lots of hard work and the connections they have made along the way with their Home is Where We Wanna Grow Album Release Party on Friday, June 14th. The event was held at the infamous and well-loved Waterhole Music Lounge in Saranac Lake.
The members of this band radiate the friendly, family-like vibe that Upstate New York’s live music scene is known for. They are always on the floor among the crowd before a show and during set breaks, greeting guests and interacting with their fans and this night was no different. As soon as I arrived I could spot percussion and harp player Lowell Wurster and had no problems getting his attention. We chatted for a moment and his excitement about the release of the new album shined. He explained that, “This one is for the people that want to get local. In a world full of so much doom and gloom, we want to represent something good, be people who aren’t just talking about it but actually doing something. We are working together to build good things and create change, and we have some good people helping us to do that.” Referring not only to connections made through live music, but also to the local organic food culture that is so prevalent here in the North Country, one that is getting bigger and better thanks to the people of Fledging Crow Vegetable Farm that the members of Lucid are so respectfully connected to. This is clear in the lyrics of the first song on the album “We can build this thing, from the ground on up, with a little bit of help from everyone”, that are chanted with such truth. Their inspiration and motivation is high and where there is a will, there is a way.
There was excitement in the air as the band kicked off the night with a welcoming “World Full” that filled the room warm island sounds. They hopped from one genre to the next and busted out a few favorites before moving on to play the new album in its entirety. The songs were so diverse, showing how expansive and sophisticated their music abilities truly are. Every person at The Waterhole was dancing to the beats and singing along and I found myself in the middle of it all. During the new song “Highest Vibration”, the dance party turned into a 1950’s get-down. To my right I saw many familiar faces and to my left couples in Harley Davidson attire, the crowd as diverse as the music. There was truly something here for everyone. Keyboardist and singer Andrew Deller surprised the crowd with his accordion playing, while James Armstrong jazzed up the night with his sax. After a quick setbreak the music began again and some old favorites were played, including “Skipping like a Stone”, “Whoa Mamma”, “Psychedelic Circus” and a solid pair of Talking Heads covers, “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” and “Psycho killer” , both of which you can always count on hearing.
These guys have an array of instruments as well as character. They have so much fun on stage and are clearly proud to share their music with anybody who wants to join in and become a piece of their colorful mosaic. Their new album reminds us all why we have a love affair with this band and why the North Country would just not be the same without them.
Be sure to check out Lucid’s 7th annual Backwoods Pondfest, in Peru, NY on August 2nd-3rd!
Home is Where we Wanna Grow is a diverse mix of genres, instruments, vocals as well as intensity. Lyrically, the album is an intricately blended mix of tongue in cheek humor, observation and inner reflection. Songs range from the bouncy and hard-hitting “Boats” to the soulful and searching “Purple Moon”.
Haewa was up next. Fronted by Berkelee educated ax wizard Collin Jones, with a rock solid rhythm section of Ben Chilbert (Bass) and Riley Dichairo (Drums); the band has been blanketing the local area with shows and have been rewarded justly with a noticeable degree of improved tightness in their complex compositions. The trio has no fear of experimentation and while this can sometimes cause a train wreck, more often then not, it works beautifully. The group powered through their itinerary of originals with reckless improvisational abandon, much to the glee of the packed house. Mid-set, the already salivating audience was rewarded with a sit-in from the aforementioned Rob Compa, and watching these two guitar wizards play off each other was an excellent ending to a jamtastic experience. Although next time Rob, please turn it up to 11.
The album continues with “East Coast Girls”, an upbeat summertime rock track. The vocal lines match the guitar strumming pattern and really play off of each other. There’s also some auxiliary percussion to get you moving towards the end. Finally, “Cold Little Heartbreaker” begins with a melancholy acoustic section that boasts perfectly timed delay on the vocals. The triumphant rock guitar comes in, followed by the floor tom driven rock beat. Howell’s vocals really project on this track, his confidence very evident.
A personal favorite was track number five, “The Chemist.” The blend of man and machine is at a perfect split in this song. The guitar is hard and heavy and rips through the electronic loops elevating each intricate note. Just when you think the song ends it comes back even harder than before. “The Chemist” is followed by a much more laid back song, “Dirty Mouth.” I was blown away by the highs and lows that they created within this five minute song. They take what could have been a relatively simple jam and add subtleties that create a whole other world within the music. “Curtain Call” starts off with heavy drum influence and veers off into very slow, melodic guitar. Parts of the song broke away with organ and keys which created a very unique sound. Another personal favorite was “When in Doubt.” The song starts off very melancholy and slow but is picked up by the drums and keys. For a relatively slow tempo song “When in Doubt” is very hard-hitting. The entire album was nothing short of phenomenal these boys certainly did not disappoint a first time listener.