Lotus Drop Complete ‘Hammerstrike’ Album Performance In Sacramento

Lotus devoted the vast majority of their recent concert in Sacramento to performing the 10 songs featured on the band’s 2008 album, Hammerstrike. The quartet started the night at Goldfield Trading Post on Sunday (January 28) by rolling through the material in the same sequence found on their third full-length record.

The band — currently consisting of multi-instrumentalist Luke Miller, bassist Jesse Miller, guitarist Tim Palmieri and drummer Mike Greenfield — visited the Roseville district venue as part of their current West Coast swing. “Decided to have some fun the other night in Sacramento and played our ‘Hammerstrike’ album in full…,” Lotus wrote of the evening on social media before asking fans which album they’d like to hear performed next.

Hammerstrike was recorded in Philadelphia by the classic Lotus lineup featuring the Miller brothers alongside former members guitarist Mike Rempel, drummer Steve Clemens and percussionist Chuck Morris. The follow-up to 2006’s The Strength Of Weak Ties was released on October 14, 2008 via SCI Fidelity Records. Guests who contributed to the LP included vocalists Steve Yutzy-Burkey and Jay Lapp as well as trumpeter Dave Ramsey, cello player Krista Nielsen, violinist Dana Weiderhold and turntablist Thomas “Kypski” Elbers. Jesse Miller wrote six Hammerstrike cuts, while Luke Miller penned three others. The siblings collaborated to compose “Alkaline.”

The present-day iteration of the band kicked off Sunday’s show with the electronic-tinged “Behind Midwest Storefronts,” the song that opens Hammerstrike. Lotus then rolled through the infectious “Age Of Inexperience,” slide guitar-driven “Hammerstrike” and synth-heavy “Bellwether.”

While Hammerstrike’s first four tracks are played fairly regularly, what came next was not. The four-piece continued the complete album performance by dusting off “Modicum” for the first time since April 14, 2015 — a span of 391 shows. Lotus then offered up the reflective “Invincibility of Youth” ahead of just the third “One Last Hurrah” performance of the ’20s.

A run of “Alkaline,” “Turquoise” and “Disappear In A Blood-red Sky” brought the Hammerstrike portion of the night to a close. Lotus went with the one-set format in Roseville. Oldie “Jump Off” followed the 10 album cuts to wrap the 85-minute frame. Luke, Jesse, Tim and Mike punctuated the concert by linking the four-year-old “Pluck” and “128,” an original debuted in 2009.

Tonight, Lotus launches a week in the Pacific Northwest with a concert in Eugene, Oregon. Find all of the band’s upcoming tour dates as well as audio and the setlist from Sunday below.

Setlist (via Phantasy Tour)

Set: Behind Midwest Storefronts, Age Of Inexperience, Hammerstrike, Bellwether, Modicum, Invincibility Of Youth, One Last Hurrah, Alkaline, Turquoise, Disappear In A Blood-red Sky, Jump Off

Encore: Pluck > 128