It is a great time to be a fan of live music. Some of the best bands in the country are in the midst of their fall tours and everything is starting to click, and Lotus is one of those bands. The live-tronica outfit made a stop in upstate New York on Thursday evening to play Cohoes Music Hall for the very first time. The historic theater, originally built in 1874, is located outside of Albany and is a fantastic place to see a show. With a similar layout to The Capitol Theatre, but on a smaller scale, it was a great venue to see two sets of Lotus.
Opening the night with “Eats the Light”, they instantly lit the room up with energy. They followed it up with their fan-favorite, “Livingston Storm”, which produced one of the most psychedelic and spaced-out jams of the night. Guitar wizard Mike Rempel danced over the rhythm section with his elegant touch that has become signature to the band’s sound. The composition of “Livingston Storm” defines what Lotus is to a lot of fans, the ambient sound that hovers over a strong groove with passion and purpose. Next came “One Last Hurrah”, one of the strongest songs off their 2008 album Hammerstrike. The song is representative to the turning point in the era of 2006 and 2008 when the band started to incorporate more electronics and became evident in their songwriting. They stretched this particular version which made it stand out amongst others.
What came next was the best segment of the night, starting with one of their most beloved classics, “Philly Hit”. Drummer Mike Greenfield locked into the pocket with a rock-solid groove. With elements of jazz and funk, it gives fans a look into the early days of Lotus when they first moved to Philadelphia from Goshen, Indiana. Thursday’s version featured classic guitar work from Rempel, and the transition into “Spiritualize” was clean and smooth.
The band was locked in as they slid into “Contagion”, which featured some incredible interplay between bassist Jesse Miller and Rempel. The dynamic between Greenfield and percussionist Chuck Morris set the guitarists up for an epic jam. Guitarist and keyboardist Luke Miller laid down some nasty rhythm guitar work that rooted the jam and allowed Miller and Rempel to explore the space. They landed back in “Spiritualize” and capped off the segment with the crowd in the palms of their hands.
The second set started off with a solid pairing of “Move Too Fast” and “Fortune Favors”. Arguably one of the highlights of the second set was a segment of “128” and “Comptroller” and Pink Floyd‘s “Echoes”; being the second time that they’ve covered the classic rock cover, using an outstretched ambient section to make their way into it from “Comptroller”.
Lotus capped off the second set with one of their best jam vehicles “Plant Your Root” and “128”, elevating the venue as they peaked into the ending of “128”. For a Thursday night show in an intimate setting, the energy of the crowd was pulsating.
From start to finish, it was a strong showing and it’s not hard to tell that they’re warmed up and are ready to crush the rest of their tour. Next up for Lotus is two nights in Burlington, VT’s Higher Ground on November 23rd and 24th before heading back to Philadelphia, PA’s Fillmore on November 30th.
Following a month-long break from the road, the quintet will regroup and ring in the new year with a five-night run throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic beginning with a performance at Pittsburgh, PA’s Stage AE on December 27th. Lotus will continue on with stops at Brooklyn, NY’s Brooklyn Steel on December 28th and Boston, MA’s Royale Boston on December 29th, before closing things out with a two-night run at Baltimore, MD’s Rams Head Live! on December 30th and 31st.
For ticketing and more information, head to Lotus’ website.