Live Music - Lake Street Dive at Madison Square Garden with Infinity Song 09/14/2024

Believe it or not, this was my first time seeing a concert at Madison Square Garden. Such a legendary stage commands some gravitas, and I was concerned that the concert wouldn't live up to the venue. Happily, I was wrong.

Let's start with the opening act. Infinity Song is a family band composed of the four Boyd siblings. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, the band moved to and began performing in New York City more than a decade ago as buskers, performing at well known locations to hear armature musicians around the city where all New Yorkers expect to hear musicians. Places like Times Square and Central Park.

After a lucky break, the band gained notoriety performing on morning and late night television, and released their first album, Mad Love, in 2020. They currently have a deluxe version of this LP as well as a 2023 EP titled Metamorphosis. Up a and coming by anyone's estimate, performing at Madison Square Garden is likely the largest venue this young band has ever encountered.

In all, I'm glad that this band is now on my radar, but I was left with the impression of a band that has a lot of room to grow. A band that will ultimately have to grow, possibly at the expense of the band's current identity, in order to rise any higher than they already have. To explain, while the four Boyd siblings are all clearly enthusiastic and talented performers, it's also clear that not all of the siblings are as talented as the others.

For a group with such an obvious emphasis on vocal performance and tight harmony, the vocal performance was by far the weakest link in this band, ultimately holding them back from what could have been a much more positive review.

Guitarists Israel and Momo Boyd form the clear vocal and instrumental basis of this group, with Momo playing and singing on every song and Israel delivering not good, not great, but amazing guitar solos on songs like Slow Burn, which was reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen's unhinged, energetic, erratic, and stunning guitar solos in Warren Zevon's Disorder in the House from The Wind (2003). I am also happy to say that this solo included a Hendrix-esque "behind the head" section of the solo that didn't seem to diminish from the musicality of Israel Boyd's performance.

Ultimately, Infinity Song delivered a somewhat confusing set which at times left me wondering why some choices has been made in the vocals. It improved as it went along and ended on a very high note in Slow Burn, but in a band of four people where only two are singers talented enough to lead a song, and only one is able to deliver a virtuoso performance on his instrument, I can't help but wonder if this act would be better as a trio or even a duo.

But onto the main act.

Straight out of Boston, Massachusetts, if you haven't heard of Lake Street Dive by now, get out to a show ASAP. With the amazing ability to write in several genres including rock, R&B, blues, funk, and pop, LSD delivers a monster twenty-four song set with no filler, no low energy, and everyone in the garden on their feet and dancing the entire act.

LSD is currently on tour to promote their most recent album, Good Together (The Tempo review coming soon), and I'm happy to say that this album has has much gas on it as any of LSD's other five records they have published since their self titled album from 2010. The result is a blend of old styles, new styles, several genres, and even original and covered songs that kept the energy high for the entire two hour set.

Highlights included a small wardrobe malfunction from lead singer Rachael Prince, which resulted in a quick costume change and several minutes of banter from the rest of the band that was endearing, engaging, and funny while Prince swapped shirts, a Shania Twain cover from keyboard player Akie Bermiss, which I dare say was better than the original, that was the emotional high point of the show, and an upright bass solo from bassist Bridget Kearney, a spectacle rarely seen outside of jazz clubs let alone in rock concerts at Madison Square Garden.

In an age where short, Tik Tok songs are in, and anyone with a computer can produce music, Lake Street Dive delivers a set that shows what music can be like if modern conveniences are leveraged to support virtuoso performers. This will not be one of those bands you heard online and excitedly purchased tickets for, only to find that, in concert, it turns out their skill lies in production rather than performance.

Another highlight from the show was superior sound mixing. Phase shifts in the organ and guitar FX chains were not lost on me even in an arena the size of MSG, where one might worry about some elements of the mix getting lost in the rafters or among the thousands of bodies in attendance.

My final bit of praise for Lake Street Dive is just that it was nice to see a band on stage that so clearly enjoyed making music, and specifically making music together. Seeing this concert the morning after Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction got into a literal fist fight on stage in Boston, and Oasis being once again on tour for as long as the Gallagher brothers can stand one another, seeing the members of Lake Street Dive relish in the opportunity to slather praise on one another during band introductions and featured songs made this concert feel not only like a performance, but like a love letter to live music, friendship, love, and kindness, themes you will see across Lake Street Dive's catalog.

My final verdict is that Lake Street Dive puts on an excellent show. Fans of the band should get tickets if at all possible, and non-fans, given the opportunity might find that there's more to like here than they assumed.