The Head and the Heart inspired joyful harmonizing at the Midland last night

The Head and the Heart
The Midland, Kansas City
Wednesday, September 24

There’s always been something about the Head and the Heart that elevated them above similarly-grouped bands like the Lumineers or Mumford and Sons. Their energetic and uplifting folk has always seemed more genuine, for some reason. It might be as simple as the stamp of approval given them by being on Sub Pop, or it might be more intangible, but there’s always been something more there. Maybe it’s the busking history. Maybe it’s the simple fact that’s a real, beat-to-shit piano onstage.

Or, last night, maybe it was the sheer anticipation of the band taking the stage after a 45-minute setup. If nothing else, when the Head and the Heart took the Midland’s stage, it was to a crowd primed and ready. The instant the band strode onto stage, the cavalcade of youngsters against the barricade began bouncing up and down, and started singing “Cats and Dogs” before Josiah Johnson and Jonathan Russell had even begun to harmonize. So it would go for the rest of the band’s set: this audience was here to sing. When they invited the audience to sing “Lost in My Mind,” voices rang off the walls and filled the Midland. Hell, the band got so into it, drummer Tyler Williams knocked a ride cymbal and its stand fully off his drum riser.

Be it “Seat Beside Me” or “Down.in the Valley,” the sextet’s sound was bigger than it looked. It was equal parts crowd participation and sheer musical enthusiasm that lofted their harmonies and melodies to the very topmost seats of the Midland, where we eventually found ourselves. Even in the nosebleeds, you could see people singing along to “Let’s Be Still” with beatific smiles. 

The Head and the Heart inspire a joy that’s hard to deny, and even the crankiest, most jaded of people couldn’t help but roll a tear at the absolute prettiness at those three-part harmonies Russell and Johnson make with violinist Charity Rose Thielen. The fact that not even a year ago, the band wasn’t even the headliner for the Night the Buzz Stole Christmas, and here they are packing the very same venue speaks volumes to their power.

Glass Animals have been popping up on my radar as one of those bands you have to see live. It’s quite true. Their dance rock is spare, almost to the point of minimalism, but every drum beat, keyboard flourish, or guitar line means something. Frontman and singer Dave Bayley conducts the audience almost literally, moving his hands like he’s weaving some sort of magic over the crowd. Combined with the quartet’s silky grooves, it’s intoxicating, and absolutely hypnotic.

“Gooey” was positively the set’s highlight, some of that may have been due to the bass, cranked to such a level that people spilled into the lobby as the song progressed. It was definitely a brain-rattling, mind-bending physical force, capable of bending one’s will. The cover of Kanye’s “Love Lockdown” was ambitious, but unfortunately killed a lot of momentum right at the finish.

Openers the Belle Brigade sounded like any number of bands purveying indie-pop these days. As my wife put it, it’s where “asymmetrical haircuts meet flannel” — it’s a little Hall & Oates, a bit Brooklyn hipster, and a whole lot of earnest shouting. They were fun, but ultimately, just a bar band on a much larger stage. The electronic discordance and keyboard flourishes were a nice touch, but could’ve been from another band, seemingly tacked onto a set of songs already written. Ultimately, the Belle Brigade reminded me of a number of bands I saw at last year’s CMJ festival whose names I can’t recall — and I think that’s telling.

The Head and the Heart setlist
Cats and Dogs
Couer D’Alene
Homecoming Heroes
Ghosts
Honey Come Home
Cruel
Another Story
Winter Song
Lost in My Mind
Shake
10,000 Weight In Gold
Let’s Be Still
Gone
Sounds Like Hallelujah
Rivers and Roads
—-
??? (Jonathan solo acoustic)
Summer
Down in the Valley