Concert Review: Lucius with Jeff Taylor

February 2 will hereafter be known in the city of Boston as “Lucius Day.”

So proclaimed city councilor Sharon Durkan Friday, presenting the indie folk-pop band with a certificate of the decree at their hometown show at the House of Blues.

It was a poignant moment for Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, who met in 2005 as students at the city’s Berklee College of Music, less than a half mile from the evening’s venue. In celebration of the ten-year anniversary of their critically acclaimed debut album, Wildewoman, the pair toured what they’ve called their “first-born,” playing eight special shows across the U.S. 

Tonight’s crowd is dotted with pairs of friends “twinning” in honor of the renowned vocalists who famously perform in identical colorful, often sparkly clothing, hair and makeup – including Councilor Durkan and her sister. The result is an atmosphere of friendship, a gathering made up largely of longtime fans.

Opener Jeff Taylor cited Lucius as an early influence on his writing, especially on his debut album A Deeper Kind, released in 2022. The Brooklyn-turned-Pittsburgh-based guitarist and songwriter began with a nearly a capella version of his melancholy “Never Was,” which captured the audience into near-silence. Other highlights of his seven-song set included “Deceived” and “It Swell,” the latter evoking a Death Cab for Cutie-like sensibility.

When Lucius took the stage in the red, green, blue and yellow of Wildewoman’s album art, the room reverberated with a deep bass rhythm injected into the record’s eponymous folk-pop track, a surprising and energizing way to start the evening. The upbeat “Turn It Around” and the blues wailer “Go Home” followed, with Holly and Jess stationed at their respective front-and-center keyboards, surrounded by various drums and other percussion. 

And perhaps rhythmic is one significant word to describe the evening. The veteran performers sailed smoothly from one song to the next, their interlocked vocals carrying over their vigorous thrum of cowbells, tambourines, tom drums and shakers. They’ve said that their voices are very different – perhaps that’s part of the mysterious alchemy behind their stirring sound. Not unlike the Indigo Girls, there isn’t a lead singer and a harmony-maker here; their voices meld together, especially when leaning into a vintage-style condenser microphone.

One highlight was the band’s recent release “Housewarming,” which was written during the Wildewoman sessions, and has songwriting so simple and elegant that it could easily find a place on Carole King’s iconic Tapestry album. 

The stunner of the evening was “How Loud Your Heart Gets,” a declaration of loyalty whose chorus drew appropriately loud voices to sing throughout the venue. After a cover of Stevie Nicks’s “Wild Heart,” Laessig and Wolfe sat down to read letters from fans, followed by the Lucius Day declaration. 

One fan told me with a wistful sigh that she’d seen Lucius almost a decade ago, during their original Wildewoman tour. That outdoor show, on what she described as a perfect summer evening, ended with the band descending into the audience, singing a capella in the middle of the crowd. 

And lo, to the delight of all in the house, for their encore Lucius and Jeff Taylor made their way to the middle of the floor for a final sing of “Two Of Us On The Run.”

Lucius have welcomed quite a bit of fame from collaborations with big names in music: Roger Waters, Brandi Carlile, John Legend, Sheryl Crow and Harry Styles. But on Lucius Day, everyone celebrated the eclectic mix of pop, rock, folk and twang that makes Lucius unequaled. For more photos from the show, visit our gallery.