Joe Hertler and the Rainbow Seekers “Passing Through” on New Tour
Joe Hertler and the Rainbow Seekers, with special guest Low Phase, played to a capacity crowd at Bell’s Brewery’s Beer Garden stage on September 28th in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Low Phase performs at Bell's Eccentric Cafe
Kicking off this fantastic lineup was Low Phase. The Grand Rapids, MI-based indie rock outfit started out the show with a bang. The traditionally four-piece band was joined by special guest Camden Ferguson. Ferguson (brother of drummer Miles Ferguson) accompanied the band on trumpet. The band played a great set of their established songs, as well as several new singles. Woven into their set was “Winter Clothes,” a single released over the summer, and their most recent single, “Float.” The crowd really got behind the band throughout the show, and the band received a great ovation from the crowd after playing their set closer “Swimming.”
Next, headliners Joe Hertler and the Rainbow Seekers took the stage. There are a lot of words that can be used to describe this band’s music including funk, Motown, rock, pop, jam, Americana, and more. But I think there’s one word that describes their live shows: fun.
Joe Hertler (left) performing at Bell's Eccentric Cafe
The eight-piece band performed an absolutely incredible two hour set that included songs from their entire catalog. As Hertler explained, the audience had requested a lot of songs from deep in the band’s catalog. As this was my first time experiencing this band live, I was unsure of what to expect (besides rumblings I’ve been hearing for years about their live shows). I can honestly say, I did not expect the experience I had over the next couple of hours.
The Rainbow Seekers perform with a prop during their show
This band absolutely commands the stage. They played with such an infectious joy that it was hard to not get pulled into their performance. Throughout their set, which included songs like “HELP,” and “What I Want,” the band drew their audience in with their amazing musical performances and stage presence. Performances took on a new life on stage as the band would add in impromptu performances. For example, during one song, the saxophone players launched into the Ghostbusters theme song. With relative ease, the band would weave their way from funk-inspired songs, to country/Americana sounds, and then turn into rock or pop territory. You never knew where the music was going to go and you couldn’t wait to let it take you on the journey.
If you want to experience this for yourself, the band is currently on a national tour. You can find more about the band and their tour at joehertler.com and on Instagram @joehertler.
