The rootsy Indiana rock band made its Meijer Gardens debut on Monday, skirting rainy weather to deliver a fan-pleasing performance along with opener harf. The review and photos.
Chasing Away the Rain: Houndmouth at Meijer Gardens on Monday. (Photo/Sarah Eyk/Meijer Gardens)
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After a rainy afternoon, opener harf. and Houndmouth brought an indie-rock feel underneath pink skies to finish out a summer evening for crowds at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park on Monday.
Two-and-a-half weeks after the release of their latest album, “Lordy,” the New Albany, Ind.-based alternative rock band Houndmouth played eight songs from their 11-track release, starting off with the bluesy “Lordy,” combining stacked a cappella harmonies with harder bass- and drum-heavy sections. Followed by “Varmints,” the band took it back to the 2021 album, “Good For You” with “Make It To Midnight” and the slower “Cool Jam.”
They have a history of touring with harf., as noted by Houndmouth lead singer and guitarist Matt Myers as he shouted them out on stage mid-set, including a quip about their preference toward champagne, Mezcal, and pool on the nights between shows.
A project led by lead singer and guitarist Will Harford, originally from Connecticut, the melodic indie-folk band is well known for tracks such as “For You I’ll Wait.”
With an ebbing set, transitioning delicately from more melancholic tracks in “How Come I Don’t See You Anymore” to the more upbeat tunes “Me and My Friends” and “Daisy,” harf. proclaimed they wanted to warm up the crowd so fans were “not stiff when Houndmouth comes out.”
And stiff, they were not.
Fans lit up as Myers explained the back story to an older song, “My Cousin Greg,” from 2015’s “Little Neon Limelight.”
“There’s references to Andy, Andy lives in Grand Rapids, actually. He’s not here, but Greg and Andy went to Bloomington, and they were math physics guys and they’d have us up. We wrote this song in their basement,” he said, as the playful rock ‘n’ roll beat had people slowly getting up to dance and nodding along from seats across the lawn.
After an extended version of fan favorite “Darlin’” and the return to “Lordy” through “Don’t Wanna Talk” and “Carbondale,” they jumped into “Palmyra,” a Midwestern reference paying homage to heir regional roots, before “McKenzie” had audience members pulling partners and friends up to jive along to the instruments.
Drummer Shane Cody took over to sing “Southside,” keeping a nice slow rhythm going into “Good For You” prior to an upbeat exit following “Comin’ Round Again” as folks cheered.
Myers faked an exit with the band before returning with an encore that has become tradition to him. “This is by far the best sounding venue we’ve played on this tour,” he exclaimed. “I always come out and play this song for an encore, but I’m not gonna stop doing it.”
After a soulful, man-and-a-guitar rendition of “For No One” that met a standing audience, awaiting the “Holy Moses” rendition to follow, featuring a lap steel that only added to the haunting beauty of the track.
The rest of the band joined, finishing strong under clear skies and flashing lights with their top hit “Sedona” from “Little Neon Limelight,” leaving the amphitheater clapping along in unison to the tune they’d been looking forward to all night long.
PHOTO GALLERY: Houndmouth at Meijer Gardens
Photos by Sarah Eyk, Meijer Gardens
