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Sunday, November 17, 2013

Local Natives at Joy Eslava

The unavoidable toe tapping and head bobbing. The bass riffs pulsating in your chest. The sing alongs, the encores, the combined energy from a crowd.

Is this what makes live music so great? I really don’t know, but I’m addicted. My last show was Tame Impala in June and I’ve been hoping to see something good since I arrived in Spain at the beginning of August.

Although Madrid is known to not have much of a music scene, it gets some good musicians passing through on their European tours. Last night, I was lucky enough to catch Local Natives at Joy Eslava.

The venue is small and was pretty perfect for a mellow show like this one. My two friends and I decided to avoid throwing elbows, so we went up a tier and scored a spot front and center.


I saw these guys in 2010 at Bonnaroo, but I wasn't too familiar with them at the time. Now, with the release of their album Hummingbird earlier this year, I've been listening quite a bit. But of course seeing the band live is definitely better than listening through my computer speakers as I fold laundry.

Three of the five guys share vocals as well as switch responsibilities on stage between guitars, percussions and keyboard. It's a fun show to watch and bassist Andy Hamm has pretty entertaining dance moves.


They ended the show with a Fleet Fox-y (according to my friend Alanna) acoustic version of "Who Knows Who Cares" before returning for the encore with "Sun Hands" - their most up-beat sing-along, perfect to end all shows as a crowd pleaser.


And as if Local Natives didn't provide enough live music for the night, I stopped by my friend Michael's flat for a few post-show glasses of wine.

He's in the works of putting together an acoustic musical group with a couple friends. We were lucky enough to be treated to a small, private show on the terrace.

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