From the time the doors opened Saturday to late into the night, Cat’s Cradle buzzed with anticipation for Lost in the Trees’ first performance in several months. Any mention of the band or Ari Picker, the band’s front man, and the crowd erupted into cheers.
The band returned to the stage in their hometown to start a five-month tour and to celebrate the release of their new album, “All Alone in an Empty House”. The Strugglers opened, warming the growing crowd with a soulful sound. A string section and pair of lather straps, which the band slapped together percussively, gave the audience just a hint of the vast range of musical instruments that would grace the stage that night.
Old Bricks, which followed The Strugglers, showed plenty of talent, playing several instruments simultaneously. The singer’s quaky voice, pounding percussion from twin drums and wailing musical saw played by Picker, who joined Old Bricks for one song, collided in an eerie sound.
By 11:15 the room was full of people eagerly pushing to the front of the crowd. The band filed on stage under darkness and all played a resounding note. Then, lit softly by a spotlight, Picker’s angelic voice broke the silence. The light widened to encompass the entire heavenly band of horns, stings and percussion. The audience, hypnotized by the band’s melodic, offbeat sound for more than an hour, cheered through two encores.
In the final song, Picker and the multi-talented Emma Nadeau chanted a melody, joined by the rest of their band and the audience, and the performance ended with a pleasant cacophony of instruments.
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