Open Aperture: The Head and the Heart Light up The Palace Theatre

Near the end of The Head and the Heart’s Minnesota concert, band member Charity Rose Thielen thanked the crowd for one of the band’s “best show ever”. Yet what may have seemed as hyperbole was backed up with an emotional, heartfelt, and energetic concert.

Touring to support their new album Aperture, The Head and the Heart’s setlist felt deliberate and thoughtful…a well-placed mix of hits, a surprise or two, and songs from their latest release.

Similar to their set at last year’s Minnesota Yacht Club Festival, they opened with the near-perfect choice of “All We Ever Knew”. With it’s progressively increasing tempo, brief solo showcases of their iconic piano and violin, and hypnotic sing-along close, they immediately drew fans in. Lead singer Jonathan Russell even added a “clap-along”. Aside from the lights washing the band in an unfitting red, it was a flawless start.

As for the lighting, it was otherwise surprisingly thrilling. Various lights strobed, danced, and swirled more than perhaps initially anticipated for such a band.

The band then went into two songs from Aperture, “Jubilee” and “Fire Escape” before returning to more familiar hits. First, Russell welcomed and thanked the audience. He then mentioned an earlier conversation with a small group about the ability to connect to a song. And then the band slowed it down with “Another Story”.

After a mix of old and new songs, the band’s enthusiasm for connecting with the audience blossomed even further. Thielen pointed out Russell’s Buc-ee’s hat—complete with fuzzy ears—and mentioned it was probably the first time a concert was ever performed with someone wearing such a hat. She then mentioned that hopefully Buc-ee’s comes to Minnesota while also lamenting how there are no more Fudrucker’s here. From there, she said they would play another new song called “Buc-ee’s”. It was actually the lively new song “Cop Car”.

From here, the band harvested that energy gained in a humorous exchange and put it into emotional renditions of their songs. “Honeybee” was performed with increased tempo and added harmonies. The audience was enraptured by an emotionally piercing version of “Gone”. “Cats and Dogs” blended into “Coeur d’Alene” while Matt Gervais swapped guitar for tambourine and highlighted moments as good as an encore.

Yet it was not. In fact, the animated Gervais had another surprise. Known for engaging and going into the crowd, he gave his guitar to an audience member named Ryan who strummed along to the song without missing a beat. And a joke was made that he won a gift card Buc-cee’s.

As the set wound down, the band continued to close out strongly. And the setlist combined sentimental hits with thoughtful embellishments. For example, “Virginia (Wind in the Night)” was accompanied with more orchestrated clapping. Extended violin complemented “Shake”. And for the set-closing “Down in the Valley”, the band sat on stage while Russell started the song solo, and asked the crowd the “help out” before the toe-tapping “oh-oh’s that follow later in the song.

It was at the start of the encore Thielen made the “best show ever” comment and the band went out on a proclamation-fulfilling closingto . The new album’s first single, the hit “Arrow” was sung with drummer Tyler Williams playing tambourine and maracas at the same time. Being the last show of this leg of the tour, Russell gave away stage props to random audience members, like Barbara Kingsolver’s novel Demon Copperhead and a band hoodie. The rationale? “Why not”, as Russell mentioned he did not need them anymore.

But in a fitting encore, the opening acts of Anna Graves and Future Birds joined for a celebratory version of “Lost in My Mind”. Friends of the band were also on stage…singing, dancing, playing instruments, and just thoroughly enjoying the moment before The Head and the Heart closed with “Rivers and Roads.

Speaking of opening bands, Minnesotan Anna Graves kicked off the evening. She was “so happy to be home” and friends and family were close to the stage to share the experience. She even joked about it being a good place to “try something new”. And she did, playing a harmonica and guitar in tribute to fellow Minnesotan Bob Dylan. She was also met with the most applause during her hit “Fly” from the television show Nobody Wants This. It was a special, warm start for the show and deserved to be a little more filled in by the concertgoers.

Ramping it up after that was Futurebirds, who put their multi-genre talent on full rambunctious display. The alternative-indie-country-rock band hit the stage running. Literally. And while their charismatic and theatrical rockstar performances caught your attention, their music kept you paying attention. Highlights were “College Try”, “Put Up, Keep Up”, and “Wild Heart”. They also showed gratitude to the headliner by all wearing THATH shirts.

Kudos to both openers who stuck around in the lobby, too…signing merchandise, posing for pictures, and sharing stories with fans.

For the last night of this leg of the tour, The Head and the Heart planned a night of music that came very much from the heart. And brightened up everyone in attendance.