Photos & Review: The Early November
Featuring: The Early November, Lydia & Restorations
The Marquis Theatre, Denver, CO.
5/9/15
Photos & Review by Shannon Shumaker
Full photo gallery HERE.
The Marquis Theatre was packed on Wednesday night, and with good reason. Fresh off the release of their new album, Imbue, The Early November was set to headline the small room with Lydia and Restorations in tow, and the night was filled with promise of an incredible live show.
Kicking off the night was Philadelphia-based group, Restorations. The venue wasn’t quite filled out by the time the band went on, even though it was already fairly late by the time they took the stage, but what the crowd lacked in number they made up for in enthusiasm. Restorations’ sound fit the mellow/emo bill perfectly, earning cheers from the crowd early on in their set. While I wasn’t familiar with much of the band’s music, they managed to keep the crowd entertained and captivated as a great opening act, preparing them for the rest of a great night.
Lydia took the stage after Restorations, much to the excitement to the crowd. It became apparent almost immediately that much of the crowd was there for Lydia as they sang along with the band like a choir. Vocalist Leighton Antelman sounded nearly flawless as he belted out fan favorite songs such as “This Is Twice Now” and “The Exit.” The crowd seemed hypnotized by the band’s remarkable vocal harmonies throughout their set, singing along just as loud, creating quite a sight. Despite the mellow mood of many of Lydia’s songs, the crowd was totally enthusiastic, creating an incredible performance from the band.
While it seemed that a few people trickled out of the venue after Lydia’s performance, the majority still stuck around for The Early November. It is worth noting that vocalist Ace Enders took up playing bass for this show, as bassist Sergio Anello unfortunately had to fly home. Despite the fact that Enders was stuck behind a mic stand for much of their performance, the energy of The Early November’s live set definitely did not suffer. There were still plenty of singalongs when the band played older fan favorite songs. The setlist was peppered with both new and old, though it was surprising that the band only played two songs from their recently released album, Imbue. Fans didn’t seem to mind, however, when the band swapped newer, lesser known tracks for older songs such as “Baby Blue” or “A Stain On The Carpet” from 2012’s In Currents. The highlight of the night came before the band played “Ever So Sweet” when a fan proposed to his girlfriend on stage.
Throughout the night, Ace Enders’ vocals were absolutely flawless as they played song after song, even coming out for an encore of “Every Night’s Another Story” and “Tell Me Why.” By the time the show came to a close, fans left feeling satisfied, whether they were there to see The Early November, Lydia or openers Restorations.