There’s something unexplainable about the feeling of being at a concert. Shoulders bumping against the sweaty person next to you when the house lights go down and the band you’ve come out to see comes on stage. Maybe they start their set with the single chord strum of a song you recognize right away, or they take things a little slowly by walking out on the stage and taking the time to wave at the crowd staring back at them. However the artists begin their set, the crowd is unified in the longing to experience the music. Together.
February 2nd at the Roseland Theater in Portland was no exception to this feeling. The headlining band was Young the Giant, a frequent radio favorite. Their opening act, and one of my favorites from the past year, was Lewis Del Mar.
Lewis Del Mar is a duo from Queens, New York. They are made up of two men. Danny Miller, who plays guitar and fronts the band’s vocals, and Max Harwood, drummer. They opened their set by following their touring band out onto the stage and smiling at the crowd. Danny took his place at the microphone and went right into their opening song.
Their set was filled with experiemental tones that are found throughout their deput album that dropped in 2016. The band layers vocals with different microphone tones and long instrumental intervals that allowed Miller to move about the stage and dance in any way. At one point Miller knocked his microphone stand over and attempted to pick it back up, but was unsuccessful. This earned laughs from the crowd and their sound manager running on stage to pick the stand back up for him. Without breaking character Miller smiled at the crowd, swayed his hips to their island inspired melody and continued with this set as planned.
The thing that impressed me most about Lewis Del Mar was their interactions with their fans. I was sitting in the balcony of the Roseland Theater with the other over 21 patrons, and was able to have a full view of the crowd. Three rows back from the stage was a group of four girls who hollered “Hell yeah!” when Lewis Del Mar came on stage. They threw their hands in the air, sang every word to their songs and danced like they didn’t have a care in the world. One of the girls in this group, a curly haired teen, got on her friend’s shoulders in order to have a moment with the Lewis Del Mar front man. Miller didn’t discourage the girl, but sang straight to her, even when a security guard came to her with his most earnest attempts for her to plant her feet back on the ground. After a few moments of arguing with the security guard in his not –so-intimidating yellow shirt that had his job title splattered on the back, the fan was back on the ground dancing yet again.
Lewis Del Mar were a breath of fresh air for someone who has seen a lot of bands on stage. They never acted as if their set was something they were bored up, but played each song with passion. You could tell they were having an enjoyable experience sharing their art with the world in front of them. This can be something that is taken for granted. There have been bands in the past that are stuffy, their sets are too tight and they seem bored on stage. Lewis Del Mar was the opposite.
If you haven’t had the chance to check out this New York based duo, I encourage you to take a look at their social media, website, and buy their album. Even better- if they’re coming to a city near you go and see them live. There’s nothing sweeter than experiencing someone’s art while they share it with you from the stage. You won’t regret spending an evening with Lewis Del Mar.
