All eyes were up at Steelhouse Omaha on Sunday, Oct. 6, when music duo Judah & the Lion performed. Up in a figurative and literal sense — the show fused an uplifting message of hope and positive mental health from the elevated stage.
First up was local band Feel Good, who took the stage at 7 p.m. The headlining act is committed to having local bands open for them throughout this fall tour, which started Oct. 4. Feel Good, fronted by Mary Brummel was chosen for the Omaha show by an online vote. Their six-song set was full of big notes and upbeat themes, such as their songs “I Feel Good,” and “Perfect Match.” Unfortunately, Brummel’s lovely voice was a bit difficult to hear, as the amps caused her to sound blown-out. Still, the themes of the six songs matched what was to come in the headliner’s set.
The show was a family affair—at least one toddler was happily dancing along to the music, and several in the room were pre-teens or younger. Attendees also included those who hadn’t seen childhood for at least 40 years.
The second opening act was Abe Parker from Atlanta, who took the stage at 7:36 for his set. While Feel Good’s set leaned toward the psychological, Parker’s set leaned toward the spiritual — several of the song included subtle messages about Christianity. The sound issues, at this point, had been resolved.
At 8:47, Judah and the Lion appeared onstage in true rock-star form. Their entrance was accompanied by intro music that crescendoed for a full minute before the word “Denial” appeared on the screen behind the band. Thus started their journey through the five stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. Each section began in a similar manner — the word defining the stage of grief appeared, and the band burst (mostly) joyfully into the songs accompanying that word. Judah Akers himself performed with high energy — running from one end of the stage to the other. During the son “Spirit,” he swung a banjo around his head so voraciously I thought he was going to chuck it into the audience, either intentionally or accidentally.
While the band started as a folk/roots band, there was little of that folk/roots sound at this concert, which swayed toward indie rock, with big vocals and heavier guitar and drum sounds combined with banjo and/or mandolin. The sound was enjoyable, if not entirely expected.
The band took the audience through all the stages of grief, joyfully, in a bit over an hour, closing around 10:15 p.m.
