Eagles of Death Metal at The Mercury Ballroom in Louisville, KY 6/28/2017

Written By: Michael Deinlein

 
Eagles of Death Metal rock Louisville ahead of their appearance at Louder Than Life in September.
 
If anyone was wondering how many people would show up to see Eagles of Death Metal at the Louisville Palace just a few short months before they are set to join a packed lineup at Louder
Than Life, the nearly full house spoke volumes. It was a diver se crowd, with young and old alike ready for an entertaining night, and Eagles of Death Metal did not disappoint.
 
 
The show started with the 1974 hit single “It’s Magic” by Pilot playing as front man Jesse Hughes walked out on stage. Wearing a satin cape, he leads the crowd in a bit of a sing along before welcoming the rest of the band on stage to kick things off with “I Only Want You” from their 2004 debut album Peace, Love, Death Metal. Things took off from there with the band giving an energized set jam packed with songs from their four records, with a heavy emphasis on 2015’s Zipper Down. There may not have been much head banging at this show, but there was definitely plenty of dancing and grooving to the songs.
 
 
Front man Jesse Hughes is an expert showman, knowing how to get the crowd in involved and engaged from the first note played. There were deafening cheers from the crowd, egged on by the band. Hughes blew kisses to people in the crowd, threw guitar picks out in rapid fire, danced all over the stage, initiated a light-hearted guys versus girls competition where he declared the girls the winners. It was nonstop music and entertainment from start to finish.
 
After leaving the stage for a few minutes, the band returned for their encore to a riotous applause from a crowd that clearly was not ready to call it a night. A definite highlight of the night was their performance of “I Love You All the Time”, a song that was covered by many bands including My Morning Jacket, Florence and the Machine, and Kings of Leon following the attack at the Bataclan in Paris in 2015. Proceeds from the sale of all these versions went to charity to benefit the victims and survivors. Another high point of the night was also during the encore when a young boy named Ian handed Jesse a red satin cape with a high collar from across the barrier. Hughes promptly put it on, brought Ian on stage, and took a few minutes from the show to pose for pictures with the boy.
 
After over 90 minutes and over a dozen songs, Eagles of Death Metal left this Louisville crowd danced out and satisfied.
About Side Stage Magazine 8245 Articles
Side Stage Magazine, providing you all the latest in music news, reviews, and interviews.