A Dope Collaboration: Lotus Welcomes Rob Compa At Higher Ground

On Saturday, Lotus brought their How To Dream In Color Tour to Higher Ground in Burlington, Vermont. Dopapod guitarist Rob Compa joined Lotus for a two-song guest appearance during the quartet’s first of two sets.

Lotus — guitarist Tim Palmieri, drummer Mike Greenfield and siblings Jesse (bass) and Luke Miller (guitar, keys) — kicked off their fall tour in support of their recently released How To Dream In Color studio album last Wednesday, October 2 at Boston’s Paradise Rock Club. The band only played two of the LP’s 12 songs at Higher Ground as they filled the setlist with career-spanning originals and choice covers.

After opening with “Cold Facts” and How To Dream In Color cut “Bamboo Forest,” Lotus dusted off Eat The Light (2016) track “Sodium Vapor” for its 2024 debut. It was then time for Compa, who currently calls Vermont home, to guest with his old friends.

Rob Compa let it rip on “Sid” and “Nematode,” two live staples that date back to the band’s early days. Compa both took solos of his own and engaged in call-and-response shred sessions with Tim Palmieri. Lotus looked to 2020’s Free Swim following the guest spot to end the set with “Land Of The Lush.”

Watch fan-shot clips of both songs featuring Rob Compa sitting in with Lotus below:

Lotus kicked off their second set in Burlington with recently debuted original “Resonance Experiments” and Gessafelstein cover “Selected Faces.” A take on Pyschmagik’s “Mink & Shoes” completed a double dose of covers ahead of the second-ever “Street Tough.” Next came How To Dream In Color’s “Can You Hear The Sound” and a set-closing “Age Of Experience.” Lotus said farewell with a “Strawberry Letter 23” encore.

Lotus resumes the tour on Wednesday night in Charlottesville, Virginia. On Thursday, the band will perform a special benefit show in Wilmington, North Carolina to raise funds for Hurricane Helene relief efforts in the state. Official audio of many Lotus shows is available for streaming and download via nugs.net. Subscribers can also watch a free livestream of Lotus’ October 13th concert at Tipitina’s in New Orleans.

Setlist (via @LotusInstagram)

Set One: Cold Facts, Bamboo Forest, Sodium Vapor, Sid* > Nematode*, Land of the Lush

Set Two: Resonance Experiments > Selected Faces > Mink & Shoes > Street Tough, Can You Hear the Sound > Age of Inexperience

Encore: Strawberry Letter 23

* – with Rob Compa (Dopapod) on guitar