The Head And The Heart wrap an extended HBP season with folk and indie rock stompers

Photos by Andy Argyrakis

An extended and excellent outdoor concert season finally wound down when The Head And The Heart brought its biggest Windy City show thus far to a crowded Huntington Bank Pavilion At Northerly Island.

It may have felt like fall, but the Seattle-based band filled everyone up with the warmth of its now sizeable folk and indie rock songbook that got a gold-selling start in 2011 and continues on the new “Every Shade Of Blue,” a conceptual collection of sorts that “conveys a spectrum of emotions and how we live with them.”

That thought-provoking title track, along with the “Don’t Show Your Weakness” and “All We Ever Knew,” got the group going, while a simple but effective set of hanging fabric strips blew dramatically in a cyclone of smoke.

From there, The Head And The Heart spontaneously charged through an ever-evolving set list, stocked heartily with anthems, stompers and ballads, often accompanied by a sea of several thousand voices, compared to the 250 or so who used to pack Schubas.

“Lost In My Mind” was one such major moment that felt like a giant campfire sing-a-long, and to a softer but no less satisfying extent, the stripped down “Sounds Like Hallelujah” brought an additional sense of intimacy to the lakefront.

The 90-minute main event, which also featured an opening hour of impassioned Americana from Shakey Graves, happened to be the first time vocalist/guitarist Jonathan Russell and his wife made it back to town together since meeting at Lollapalooza, plus it featured another guest in the form of comedian/actor Adam Ray, who brought extra energy on stage to the mighty choruses of “Missed Connection.”

Of course, The Head In The Heart is no stranger to switching up singers, though no matter if it was Russell, violin player Charity Rose Thielen or her husband, guitarist/keyboardist Matt Gervais, the earthy harmonies and instrumentation behind them always made it come across with cohesion.

The communal feel between the musicians and fans rose up another level come the charging “Shake,” which paved the way for a rousing encore of “GTFU,” “Virginia (Wind In The Night)” and “Rivers And Roads,” all of which made for a bittersweet but moving send-off to both the show and the summer.

For additional information on The Head And The Heart, visit TheHeadAndTheHeart.com.

For a list of upcoming concerts at Huntington Bank Pavilion At Northerly Island, visit LiveNation.com.