After driving nearly 1,400 miles straight from their prior gig in Spokane, Wash., the Head and the Heart's members can be forgiven for thinking they were still one city to the west of their final destination on Wednesday afternoon.
"It's great to be back in Minneapolis," guitarist Jonathan Russell said at the start of a special happy-hour gig at the Turf Club. Yep, that's in St. Paul.
Promoting their month-old third album (and Warner Bros. debut) "Signs of Light," Russell, lead singer Josiah Johnson and violinst Charity Rose Thielen played a six-song unplugged set as part of 89.3 the Current's "Microshow" series, which will air at a later date. The Seattleites picked out four of the most harmonious tunes on the new LP, including the single "All We Ever Knew," the serene lullaby "Your Mother's Eyes" and the classic-folky "Library Magic." Their set ended with a hand-clapping, front-porch-style rave-up of their 2011 hit "Lost in My Mind."
"It's so great to play early like this, then we can make our 7:30 bedtime," Russell quipped near the end.
Fans can probably expect (and hope) to hear these same six songs Thursday night at the Northrop, which appears to be a sold-out show save for a few single seats. The band members should have their bearings straight by then, although Thielen -- whose parents used to live in the Twin Cities -- knew her whereabouts.
"I think we might be able to make it to St. Paul at some point," she winkingly told the crowd to make up for Russell's error.
