The Lumineers at The O2 Dublin – Review & Photos

The Lumineers – The O2, Dublin – 21 November 2013

Some might have thought that the bigger stage and the open arena would be too big for The Lumineers having only played smaller venues in Dublin in the past! They’d be wrong… They filled that massive stage quite effectively. In a jovial mood, the multi-talented musicians roamed the stage in a very child-like manner but when it came to their music, their maturity shone through.

The trio of chandeliers above the stage pulsed at intervals as the lights went down to announce the beginning of the show. The piercing screams from the crowd as the band arrived on stage to quite an eerie soundtrack. A surprising amount of mobile phones in the crowd as everyone tried to capture the first glimpse of the band.

Kicking off the night with the song Classy Girls from their self-titled debut album, as screams of appreciation rang out, with many girls wishing Schultz was singing directly at them. A brief pause before continuing onto the next song, Schultz tells the crowd of his appreciation for people coming tonight and “despite Dublin not being that big of a town, this is the biggest show we’ve done in all of Europe”.

The set continued with a cover of Denver based Sawmill Joe’s – Ain’t Nobody’s Problem with a piano that would not have been out of place in a 19th century wild west saloon. This wasn’t the only cover of the night, as they pumped out a crazy rendition of Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues to massive applause.

All had gone quiet momentarily, the stage had gone dark, the roadies handing over a change of guitar and the lights came back on to the opening note of Ho Hey. The deafening screams soon died down to a sing-along chorus of voices around the venue.

Looking down from balcony, all that could be seen from above was the hundreds of mobile phones recording the excitement, everyone trying to get their own little memory for the night for keeps.

The crowd’s hands and vocal chords must be red raw by now from all the clap and sing-along segments and this continued with the track Dead Sea. One set of female admirers even held a sign at the front with Jeremiah, you’re our Dead Sea!

As has become customary at a Lumineers gig, the asked the crowd to create a space down the middle so they could play a couple of songs with them and be near to them. The crowd parted like the Red Sea as 3 members of the band mounted boxes and belted out the songs Darlene and Elouise. For the latter, the band asked that all cell phones be put away and to just be with them. Most obliged but the few who didn’t, had their phone temporarily confiscated by members of the band. Kind of sad that some couldn’t do as the band wished but this is a modern young crowd who require evidence of their attendance along with some blurry snaps.

The band returned to the stage for a fantastic version of Stubborn Love, with everyone on their feet and singing along so loudly, a real goosebump inducing moment. A brief time off stage and return for an encore as they came back with the closing track on the album Morning Song followed by  a new song from the movie franchise Hunger Games, Gale Song.

To finish off the night, another album track in Big Parade. The crowd were singing and hanging on every word. Everyone in the crowd was on their feet with their hands in the air. A real emotional feel to finish off a truly heart-warming set.

A real high energy performance by the Colorado based gang. With musicians swapping places from time to time from Drums to piano to bass to cello, a real bunch of skilled musicians. No one wanted this gig to be over. The smiles on the faces of the crowd would be hard to wipe off after a performance like this.

Review by Pat Byrne

Photos by Tudor Marian

See also: Photos and a review of their previous Dublin gig at The Olympia Theatre