My heart rate spiked 4 times at Bogarts while waiting for Future Islands to get on stage, claustrophobic from the cacophony of the crowd coupled with my general overheating. When they started their set the sound mix was just awful so that didn’t help.
But that lead singer Samuel T. Herring is mesmerizing — equal parts machismo and exotic interpretive dancer. He’s created sign language about love, letting go, and learning from your mistakes. It involves a lot of reaching toward the light, chest thumping, downhill skiing and pleading eyes.
If I was in the front row and he glared at me I’m certain I would immediately have to look away.
And every once in a while he sounds briefly possessed by a demon. (See and hear for yourself, here’s their debut on Letterman from 2014.)
