The Lumineers - A Tragedy

Several months ago, Teag and I bought tickets, along with Kev & Meg, and Steve & Katie, to see the Lumineers in concert at Saltair. Oddly enough, it fell on the same day as Maisie's field trip, so I certainly got my fill of the lake that day. And that extraordinary wind? It became my nemesis! Not only did it dry the crap out of my newly-lasiked eyes on Maisie's field trip, it also ruined what should have been an awesome concert.

Things started out nice enough, we all went to dinner, and hung out waiting for the show to start. Got a couple of nice pictures.

Still happy

The Ladies, including Katie's sister Kelsi

Kev & Meg

 It was still windy, but it didn't seem like anything problematic. It certainly didn't dissuade the crowds at all. We sat through two opening bands, one of them being passable, and waited a good long while in between bands. Then before the second one was all the way finished, a stage guy interrupts to say that because of the weather, they're going to move off the stage because it's not safe. The Lumineers still wanted to play, so they decided to move all their equipment to the balcony of the building. The 20 minutes they promised took more like forty, but people were in good spirits and anxious to see the actual band they'd paid money for.

Teag and Steve in front of the "unsafe" stage

 Finally the show started, and we were all pleased to discover that they are one of those bands that sound even better live. We were all standing, having a great time, and starting to get into the music, despite the poorly lit stage.

Then suddenly, in the midst of a new song that by all appearances seemed to be pretty amazing, a bunch of roadies started bailing off the stage they'd been dismantling. The song ended, and the same stage guy announced that due to weather and "unsafe conditions", the show would be cancelled. They'd played roughly 4 1/2 songs; just enough to not refund our money. It ended up being a serious disappointment. I was really enjoying myself once they actually started playing.

According to Kevin, an experience doesn't have to be a good one for it to be an adventure, but I think I prefer adventures with happy endings. Who wants to go to all the work, but get none of the payoff? At the very least, I got a cool T-shirt, and a date night with my husband. I'll take it.

*UPDATE: A few days after the concert, we received an email from the Lumineers informing us that after fighting with the concert promoters, we would be issued a refund from the band itself. Very classy move, especially given the circumstances. While we may never go to a concert at Saltair again, we'll definitely attend another Lumineers concert.