19 Dec 14

 "...we missed the shit out of you..." ~ Karl of Lucid Ground

They brought the band back together ...on a mission to help support a good cause.

No, this isn't the opening premise to the original Blue Brothers movie which featured Jim Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Carrie Fisher, John Candy, Cab Calloway, James Brown and more, blogspot readers. This is the opening premise to the return of local favorites - Lucid Ground who returned to the stage for a very special one-night only performance at Wrigleyville's famous Cubby Bear. The mission of night was to collect canned food for The Greater Chicago Food Depository, a nonprofit organization that helps feed needy families in the Chicago area. Yet, what made this performance special was the band inviting a few friends to perform acoustically on stage with them ...friends like Model Stranger with a comedy act to get the night off to great start.

SouthSide has heard this local band in all of its amplified glory before leaving the spotlights and the stage over two years ago but never acoustically, blogspot readers. And tonight, the five original members - Karl (front man), Jeff (guitar), Luis (guitar), Brian (bass) and Leonard (drums) were in rare form performing a long set of their hit singles, B-sides and covers ..even a new song (a hint perhaps this wasn't a one time appearance) stripped down as an acoustic band. Plus for a band that haven't performed together in two years, in this reviewer's opinion, it didn't sound as if they were ever apart.

As an acoustic band, Lucid Ground still rocked, blogspot readers, with all of the dramatic heartfelt emotions and intense guitar rhythms from memorably song titles like Empty Table, Count The Miles, Dissolve and many more. And though it may have a rare treat for the band, it must have felt the same way for the many fans who crowded the tables at this unique show. It's been a long while hearing Karl belt out the emotions during a song like Shaken Crown or pour out his heart during the chorus of All To You. Lucid Ground's front man - Karl could still get fans applauding and cheering with his raspy "everyday man" vocal style on lyrics, blgospot readers, in a way that touches deep within your soul. She has said it once before ...there aren't too many front man who aren't afraid to dive in and wear their emotions on stage. Karl is one of them especially when covering the iconic Led Zeppelin song "Hey Hey What Can I Do". 

Yet, let's not forget the band behind the man, blogspot readers. From SouthSide's point of view, Lucid Ground member not only enjoyed returning to the stage as a band but once again  brought back their infamous upbeat or downtempo rhythms or that special Leonard drumming (with some wind chimes during certain songs but no stripping at the kit) style though acoustically. With the songs performed non-amplified, the music sounded refreshing and more dramatic (especially when adding a bit of keyboard rhythms to a few songs by Thomas Miller of Rocket Cathedral) that you could sometimes feel the power of the lyrics and music combined ...which instantly brings out the raw feelings from Lucid Ground to your ears. Their rock alternative has a way of making you touch the depths of your emotions without even knowing it when rockin' to the music, blogspot readers.

 

It was indeed an emotional homecoming for everyone involved.

Will Lucid Ground rise and perform somewhere on stage again? Who knows, blogspot readers, who knows...

In the meantime, you can visit Lucid Ground at http://www.lucidground.com or "like" the band page on Facebook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until next time, support your local scene,

SouthSide