With his hat hanging on the microphone, Johnathan Russel (lead vocals, guitar) of The Head and the Heart ditched his white blazer and threw on his guitar--the one with the glittery strap--as the band thundered through the fourth show of their Living Mirage tour. As vocalist/violinist Charity Rose Thielen noted, “it’s intimidating playing music in such a musical city.” However, love and high energy from the sold out crowd said they shouldn’t worry.

The band returns to Austin after a two year hiatus with back-to-back shows at ACL Live. With the release of their fourth album Living Mirage back in May, the Seattle-based band has an extensive discography, but they mostly stuck to tracks from their new album and debut album The Head and the Heart (2011). The crowd whistled as the band members emerged onstage, backlit with tiny twinkling lights. The adventure began with the title track, “Living Mirage”, as the stage glowed pink and blue, setting the tone for a dreamy night.

Drummer Tyler Williams played on risers, matching the high energy of charismatic frontman Johnathan Russel. During “Let’s Be Still”, Williams picked up a maraca to use as a drumstick, and by the end of the folk-rock show he was drumming with a maraca and playing the tambourine all at once.

Highlights included a chilling violin solo from Thielen over “All We Ever Knew” and booming show-closer “Down in the Valley” that got the entire crowd up and singing. For the encore, Russel, Thielen and multi-instrumentalist Matt Geravis (Theilen’s husband) played two acoustic songs. Williams (drums), Christ Zachasch (bass) and Kenny Hensly (keys) joined the rest of the band for an emotional rendition of “Rivers and Roads” to end the night.

Although this was only the band’s fourth show of the tour, their stout performance and cohesive energy throughout the hour and a half show suggested it could’ve been their 40th. Before the show, the crowd warmed up to a strong opening act from indie five-piece Hippo Campus, who will join The Head and the Heart for the first half of their North American tour.

The Head and the Heart play again tonight July 10 at ACL Live, and you can find tickets here.

Set list:

1. Living Mirage

2. Missed Connection

3. Rhythm & Blues

4. Ghosts

5. All We Ever Knew

6. Another Story

7. Let’s Be Still

8. Brenda

9. Lost in My Mind

10. Winter Song

11. Honeybee

12. I Found Out

13. Up Against the Wall

14. Down in the Valley

Encore:

15. Glory of Music

16. Library Magic

17. See You Through My Eyes

18. Shake

19. Rivers and Roads

The Head and the Heart

CULTURE CAPITAL