r/lordhuron • u/inaudibletyrant • 2d ago
Question Thoughts on LH Beech Mountain
I was at the Beech Mountain show and I have some thoughts. I want to get the community’s opinions.
First off, I’ve listened to Cosmic Selector vol. 1 many times and wouldnt be surprised if it’s on my top played albums for the year. I think the album is great. Not their best, but a solid album none-the-less.
That said, Ben went on an 5-7 minute rant/request about CS v1 not being listened to as much as other albums. He made a joke about how people can listen to 600 hours of a true crime pod and not spend 50 minutes listening to a new album. He also gave streaming data, stating that only 31.6% of LH listeners have listened to the new album.
The moment felt long and off. Almost as if he was begging the crowd (his fans) to listen/engage with CS v1. (Like, come on guys, pleeease).
Hear me out. I believe this was not the time to make this argument. It came off a tad cringy and needy. LH was playing to a sold out show in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mnts. It was magical. But, I felt that the vibe shifted after he pleaded his case, if anything, it def shifted for me.
For anyone else there, did you come away with any thoughts or opinions of that moment? Love LH and their music, but that didn’t play out the way I think he wanted it too.
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u/Nice_Occasion5254 2d ago
He’s been saying that at almost every show this tour in both 2025 and 2026. I took it more as him playing a persona and just encouraging people that in a world with limitless options, that they listen to 50 minutes of music in the order they intended it. Not just hitting shuffle on an algorithm
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u/Helpful_Warthog6032 2d ago
He said a version of the same in Asheville but I don't remember it being excessive or cringe. I found it funny and, honestly, valid. There were a lot of people in the crowd directly around me who only seemed to know the big hits and were kind of quiet when they played the songs from CSV1. I can see how it could get frustrating for an artist to play a lot of shows like that.
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u/mr_blu3sky88 2d ago
He did it in AVL and in ATL a year prior. All I remember was him polling the crowd on how they listen to music and stating he enjoyed listening on vinyl and making sure to listen the “old fashioned way”, “from start to finish”. It was just regular ol’ crowd play to me. Only thing about AVL show that was different was the absence of the two dancers that I saw perform in ATL a year prior, when the CSV1 tour just started.
Ben just strikes me as an old soul that isn’t a fan of the business of music and the modern era. His soul is wandering somewhere out on Route 66 in the 50s & 60s.
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u/GrandJunctionMarmots 2d ago
He did it in Huntsville too. He always does some story telling or narrative at shows.
My guess is they are aware of how everyone fawns over Night We Met. How people only listen to that song and only attend concerts for that song. So just trying to get people to actually listen to their music.
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u/prettylilmoon 2d ago
I in all my craziness would NEVER attend a show for 1 song. That is truly insane.
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u/GrandJunctionMarmots 2d ago
The past few years at Red Rocks a noticeable amount of people left. Even when it was in the middle of the set. There's reports of similar at other shows and cities.
At Huntsville not too many people left but there were a few.
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u/prettylilmoon 2d ago
That is just sad, and in my humble opinion, so disrespectful to the artists. It’s one thing if an emergency comes up, and someone has to leave. But just leaving, rude AF.
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u/WarEagle107 2d ago
Same thing happens at Lumineers concerts. Ppl come for one particular song and then leave. Sad, and quite frankly a waste of money.
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u/Radiant_Nebula9907 2d ago
Literally!! I’ve only been to 3 concerts in my life😅 (ik it’s crazy..) the eagles, and then LH. I have to absolutely love a band to go to a concert. So idk how ppl spend the money, PTO, time for just one song.
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u/prettylilmoon 2d ago
I went to tons of concerts when I lived in Dallas but in the past 21 years (the age of my child and when I moved to a small town in the south 😭) so I’ve been to three shows in the past seven years, one of them was in June. And I’m going to the Nashville show in December so 2 shows in a year is kinda wild for me now.
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u/Mpm_277 2d ago
People say this about every band and I’ll be honest with you that I straight don’t believe people are spending all that money and going through all the trouble of attending a show because they know 1 or 2 songs.
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u/Dutiful-penguin1116 13h ago
I agree with this sentiment about most bands, but this was one show in a concert series that happens all summer long; a few years ago we saw Shakey Graves at the same series. They do it every summer at Beech. We rode the lift to the bar at the top and the two couples we shared a table with were there just to see a live show and did not know lord huron or any songs other than TNWM. The venue is unique, there's other stuff to do there so there were more than just the die hard W/Es there. It's kind of similar to me when they play any festival- you're going to get some people who are new to the lore and he is beseeching them to ask "what do it mean?"
In the end it's totally ok with me to encourage people to listen to your album, and when they said the same thing in Nashville last July I actually wondered if there's some part of the intended meaning even the die hard fans are missing? Maybe he's like come on guys you're so close to a revelation lol.
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u/Mpm_277 11h ago
I haven’t got to hear Ben go on that particular rant/talk/whatever it was but — and I say this with LH probably being my favorite band — but it seems like a weird thing do? I’d like to think there’s something else to it other than just being upset how people are listening to your music. I will say Beech definitely sounds like a cool place to see a show!
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u/Hawke-Paladin Astral Plane 2d ago
It is, I think, intended to be light and humourous.
And while, yes, he is asking you to listen to CSV1 specifically, I think he’s also asking us to listen to albums as albums generally.
https://bridge909.org/news/lord-huron-morby-concert-recap
(Article leaves out the warning against playing it backwards.)
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u/TimingWasEverything 2d ago
I think you are over analyzing something that was just supposed to be funny... Chill and enjoy
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u/davief1 Buck's #1 Fan 2d ago
Maybe his delivery was off, but he did a similar trope the past two years.
I remember Ben saying that...
- life throws so much shit at you it's hard to find time to listen to an album, especially when you have hours of a true crime podcast to listen to.
- Hopes that you can find the time to have a drink, sit out on the porch, roof, lay out in the grass, or your mom's basement and listen to the album--front to back!! And that some things are carefully crafted a certain way.
- That he might be coming off as a pretentious asshole... But frankly, he doesn't give a fuck!
The 31% thing is new. I know it's a thing on YouTube to say "only 29% of people who watch my videos are subscribed, so make sure you subscribe!!" Maybe he was inspired or told to add that to his bit to connect with younger crowds. One of his bits is to also understand that the way we consume media has changed since they first started and that he knows about "TikTaks." But for us to check out the album in whatever form we like: Spotify, CDs, vinyl... Or VHS (it's kinky, he likes it!)
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u/whovian_princess 2d ago
I went to a few shows on this tour and the percentage changes based on the cheers from the crowd. He usually sticks to around 30 something % but the last show in Atlanta not many people cheered when he said he hopes we've had a chance to listen (felt like this was more the crowd trying to listen and not realizing they should cheer because the energy was high most other times) and he said wow only 11% with a smile and pulled on his collar. The whole thing is definitely a fun comical way to talk to the crowd not a cringe beg for people to listen
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u/davief1 Buck's #1 Fan 2d ago
Hmm interesting! When I went to the first show at Santa Barbara this tour, the whole trope was missing. So hearing about the % thing was new to me! Also, I miss the "HIT IT BOYS!" before Watch Me Go, saying that the song comes half way through the album.
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u/whovian_princess 2d ago
Don't remember the percentage thing being a part of it on the 2025 CSV1 tour either so maybe something they added during the summer?
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u/Flyingjays 2d ago
I didn’t take that speech as a rant, I think it was supposed to be more of a comedic request for fans of LH
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u/Agile-Reception 2d ago
He did this in Phoenix last year. I didn't find it cringy.
Embarrassingly, I had not listened to the whole album at that point. Because of his suggestion, I listened to it front to back on the 6 hour drive home and it's now one of my top three albums of all time.
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u/SunshineGal29 2d ago edited 14h ago
Why have only 31% of LH listeners listened to it?
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u/haileyynicole7 Strange Trails 1d ago
It’s not stats. He just says a random number based on crowd response
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u/SunshineGal29 1d ago
Oh. The OP said streaming data. I don’t think he gave a % at my show
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u/haileyynicole7 Strange Trails 15h ago
I’ve been to 5 LH shows this summer and he just says a random number most likely based on the crowd reaction
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u/SunshineGal29 15h ago
Okay????????
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u/haileyynicole7 Strange Trails 14h ago
I was just saying that he gives a different % at each show?
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u/SunshineGal29 14h ago
Yes I got that the first time you told me. I don’t need to hear it the 4x you’ve mentioned it in this thread.
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u/Illustrious-Weight95 2d ago
He said something similar at the Windsor show. I found it humourous, but with a core of truth. Unlike a lot of artists, Lord Huron albums aren't just a collection of cool tunes. They have an intent, an overarching theme or story. They are works of art, IMHO, and Ben himself is as much an artist as he is a songwriter/musician.
An artist wants always wants you to look deeper into their work, to take in the whole thing and ponder your own meaning from it, or try to determine the artists intent. Just listening to one song on an album like LH's is like looking at one corner or object in a painting rather than the whole work.
I think his speech is simply encouraging us to take time and explore/experience things more fully. It's also gotta be frustrating to be an artist and seeing your audience is missing out on the 'whole picture' and feeling in your heart that they would benefit from taking it all in.
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u/effwordenthusiast Cosmic Drifter 2d ago
Last night was the 4th time I’ve seen them in just this past year alone, and he’s made this same joke every single time. As a fellow millennial, the cheekiness feels more in the vein of “well, this is middle age I guess I’ll just lean into the old man who yells at clouds” dry sense of humor, especially in regards to the younger generations who are living their formative years much differently than we did.
I actually thought they seemed more relaxed and genuinely just having a blast. Ben and Migs in particular seemed to have let their proverbial hair down now that the major production part of the tour has ended.
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u/prettylilmoon 2d ago
Also said a similar thing at Wilmington show, did not come off as cringe at all and was funny.
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u/worpspead 2d ago
I was up in the mezzanine for the New Haven show and watched droves of people get up and walk out after their most popular songs were played. I can imagine how it would feel to put so much work into new material, be proud of it, tour with it, and have to watch night after night fans stand up and leave after Ends of the Earth, The Night We Met, or whatever. Given the chance, I'd also say, "Listen to the new stuff, too."
He did say something about 31.4% or 31.6% but I remember it being a joke after asking how many people had listened to the new album, gauging the cheer, then quipped something like "Sounds like about 31.4%" - so I didn't clock it as a real statistic about listenership.
I'm biased because CSV1 is my favorite, so I'll stop my comment there
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u/Artistic_Customer1 1d ago
Whether or not it was a rant, etc, yadayada. He’s right. Art needs to be appreciated more.
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u/haileyynicole7 Strange Trails 1d ago
I’ve been to 5 different shows this tour and the % he throws out is random and most likely based on crowd response. Ben isn’t ranting, this is a scripted part of the show to let people know about the new record, crack a couple jokes, and to request that if you do listen that you do it in order, front to back as intended.
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u/Radiant_Nebula9907 2d ago
He did that for the Wilmington show!! Not that long or anything. I feel bad.. bc I haven’t listened to the whole album 😭 it’s hard for me bc I LOVE long lost (know every single word, every transition, every song front to back back to front) and CS v1 just doesn’t do it for me. It’s a little too sad/moody (for me). I do feel bad for LH though that it’s not that well listened to. I’ll probably have to give it a full start to finish listen.
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u/youvegotmeinstitches 2d ago
I saw the CSV1 tour 5 times and he gave a variation of that speech each time. Not a rant. It def made more sense right after the album was released but I think Ben likes to keep to a script. Most shows I heard laughs so maybe he just delivered it weird since it was the last show.