Lord Huron at le Poisson Rouge

Ben Schneider

Growing up in Okemos, Michigan, Ben Schneider and his family frequently visited Lake Huron, where they often sang by a campfire. When Schneider was 12 years old, he had his first four-track recorder and started taking music seriously. He played in the orchestra in middle school and high school, and moved towards contemporary bands in high school and college. Schneider studied visual art in Michigan and in France, then moved to New York City for about three months, where he worked for an artist. Schneider then "followed a girl" to Los Angeles, California, where he found work as a graphic designer in 2005. Unfulfilled in the commercial art world in 2010, Schneider formed a solo project he called Lord Huron, named after the lake. He recorded his first few EPs alone and then asked childhood friends to come to California to play live shows with him. The indie folk band presently consists of vocalist/guitarist Schneider, guitarist Tom Renaud, bassist Miguel Briseño, and drummer Mark Barry. Lord Huron's third album, Vide Noir, will be released on April 20, 2018.

Lord Huron played a preview show tonight at le Poisson Rouge before launching a national tour. For this tour, the band added to its personnel the two members of the Los Angeles-based My Name Is You, guitarist Brandon Walters and keyboardist Anne Williamson. Together, the musicians followed Schneider's lead through a psychedelic pop spectrum of wordy songs and ebullient rhythms. The angular approach to folk, rockabilly and rock along with the unrefined veneer of the final hard-charging product suited the band well, even if the blaring garage approach obscured most of the lyrics. This might be a consideration for the band: let the lyrics be heard.

Lord Huron will perform at the Beacon Theatre on May 3 and at Brooklyn Steel on August 1 & 2.

Visit Lord Huron at www.lordhuron.com.

Setlist:

1. Ancient Names Part One
2. Ancient Names Part Two
3. Meet Me in the Woods
4. Hurricane (Johnnie's Theme)
5. Never Ever
6. Wait By The River
7. Ends of the Earth
8. Dead Man's Hand
9. Back From the Edge
10. When the Night Is Over
11. The Birds Are Singing At Night
12. Way Out There
13. Vide Noir
14. The World Ender

Encore:

1. The Night We Met
2. Fool for Love