A little more than two years after their last stop through St. Louis (see photos from the 2023 show here), Lucius graced the stage at Delmar Hall on May 6, just days after the release of their fourth studio album, Lucius, on their The Gold Rush tour. And avid fans, many adorned in sequins, were here for it.
On the second night of their 36-city spring, summer, and fall tour, fans had little idea of what to expect. One thing they did know—Lucius has range and lovely, harmonizing vocals, and anything they do is going to be, well, fabulous.
This time around, their concert was more low-key as several songs performed came from the new album, including “Gold Rush, “Borderline,” and “Old Tape”, which is full of a subtle, clean openness. This time around they had keyboards instead of keytars, they were dressed in what can only be described as white circular garlands covering black clothing as opposed to smart pink suits, and the stage was adorned with two large plastic saguaro cacti, a lamp, lawn chairs, a mail box, a small TV set amongst the rest of the band gear, that they were trying to project as comfy but it came off as cluttered on this stage with the other band members obscured most of the time.
But the visuals weren’t why fans were in attendance. They were there for the delightfulness that Lucius brings. The closeness and the welcoming feeling that go along with their pristine harmonies and deep emotions turned into heartfelt pop.
About halfway through the set, after the country-tinged “Dusty Trails,” Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig shared they wondered how to make the stage more homey, and it dawned on them, “lawn chairs!” They then sauntered over to the chairs, sat down, and began conversing with the crowd. A friendly fan shouted out for them to check the mailbox, “You have mail!” Indeed, they had a stack of fan mail of which they took turns reading several letters. They noted, “This is the first time doing the mail on this tour. How was it?” Cheers elicited from the crowd, however, a couple of fans shared they felt the momentum was lost and hard to regain.
They ended the night with a divine, sweet, slow cover of R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts.”
Currently based in London, Victoria Canal, who’s lived in several countries, opened the night. A Spanish-American singer and songwriter, Canal played guitar and keys and shared several fun and poignant stories about her and her life. She came across quite charming and shared that it was her first time in St. Louis. She admitted to calling it St. Louie, and said, “I had this little dude made up in my head.” She then proceeded to ask if anyone in St. Louis had mullets. She joked that most of her songs were about guys including the sweetly somber, flowing “Totally Fucking Fine” even though, she said, “I’m totally gay.”
Seeing Lucius in concert is full of mad love and joy rides, as there’s nothing ordinary about them.
See more photos from the night here https://bit.ly/Lucius25cz
