Recap Cloud Cult at First Avenue

Cloud Cult just released a career-retrospective DVD, No One Said It Would Be Easy, and in front of a sold-out house at First Avenue on Saturday, the band reaped the rewards of its labor. With a full set that covered material from 2008’s Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes) and 2007’s The Meaning Of 8, Cloud Cult dazzled and uplifted its dedicated fans with its orchestral rock.

The show reunited Cloud Cult with local rockers Ice Palace, who opened and will also join Cloud Cult on its upcoming West Coast tour. Ice Palace’s well-received new disc, Wonder Subtly Crushing Us, was produced by Cloud Cult frontman Craig Minowa and released on his Earthology label, and the group was hitting their stride with a full sound: two guitars, pounding drums, and occasional flourishes of trumpet. Also opening were Chicago math-rockers Maps & Atlases, whose charm was built on their exacting guitar riffs and mumbling Vampire Weekend feel. The real propulsion came from drummer Chris Hainey, who broke the rhythm down with such concentration that he appeared to be doing long division.

Cloud Cult is a bigger band than most, including not just guitars and drums but cello, violin, and two stage painters who are full-fledged touring band members. Combined with the display from their new smart light rig, the absorbing spectacle took on a sense of otherworldly creativity as the harmonies built and ricocheted around the stage.

Looking out onto the crowd halfway through the rollicking set, Minowa declared that the music and the experience was "all about love," and it was truly in the air. Craig’s wife Connie, who is one of the painters, was visibly pregnant, and when Minowa shared the news from the stage, the audience roared. Much of the emotive power of Cloud Cult’s music comes from the death of the Minowas' first son. In the spirit of new life and displaying the band's dedication to their fans, Minowa spun the spotlight over to a young man who proposed to his girlfriend. As she nodded yes and the crowd roared again, the band moved in to “Chemicals Collide,” a song about the unpredictability and insatiable beauty of love.

When the band came back out to play “Everybody Here Is A Cloud” for its encore, the audience chanted along with the chorus, unwilling to let it go. Looking around, eyes were closed, mouths moved along with the words, and people danced—a true testament to the communal power of rock 'n' roll.

Cloud Cult setlist:
"Love You All"
"Hope"
"Story Of The Grandson Of Jesus"
"When Water Comes To Life"
"Brain Gateway"
"Pretty Voice"
"We Made Up Your Mind For You"
"That Man Jumped Out The Window"
"Chemicals Collide"
"Million Things"
"No One Said It Would Be Easy"
"2x2x2"
"Living On The Outside Of Your Skin"
"Bobby’s Spacesuit"
"Journey Of The Featherless"
"Chain Reaction"
"Take Your Medicine"
"The Tornado Lessons"
"Everybody Here Is A Cloud"

Ice Palace

Ice Palace

Ice Palace

Ice Palace

Maps & Atlases

Maps & Atlases

Maps & Atlases

Maps & Atlases

Cloud Cult's pre-show high five

Cloud Cult's Connie Minowa

Cloud Cult

Cloud Cult painter Scott West

Cloud Cult's set list