Saturday’s show marked the band’s debut in Bloomington and is part of their tour highlighting their 12th and latest studio album, Unplug.
Previous venues for the Unplug tour include Portland, Ore., St. Louis and Memphis, Tenn.
Cloud Cult’s performance comprised two sets, one acoustic and the other electronic.
The acoustic set featured soft lighting with low saturation. The music relied heavily on the lead singer Craig Minowa’s vocals. While the audience sang along and lauded each song, hips swayed from side to side.
The performance also brought in the unusual element of painting.
While the band played, two visual artists stood on stage and began to draw portraits with black paint.
The tone of the scene was relaxed.
That changed in the second set. The lights became bolder in color, transitioning from white and pale blue to a deep violet. The visual artists painted with fervor and matching the hype surrounding them. The music relied less on solo vocals and more on the group, who brought in electronic instruments and auto-tuned voices.
The crowd grew in energy, matching the ebb and flow of Cloud Cult. Swaying hips shifted to foot stomping and clapping, which in turn became dancing.
All throughout the night, it seemed as though the main idea of the event was a fusion of natural and technological elements.
“It’s a very multi-faceted world we live in,” said Shawn Neary, the band’s bass and auxiliary member since 2007.
Neary said Cloud Cult seeks to represent the immersion of nature and technology in their work.
“We really like to portray that resonance,” Neary said.
The idea that technology and nature are melding together isn’t a new concept for Cloud Cult, whose name originates from the very idea.
The band’s name is inspired by the ancient prophecies of indigenous North Americans.
“In the Southwest, there were prophecies about humans losing the balance between technology and nature that would ultimately trigger a societal crash that would lead to a new era of accelerated spiritual growth,” singer and songwriter Craig Minowa said.
At the end, the show garnered mostly positive reactions.
“It was absolutely amazing,” Bloomington resident Sofia Bertoloni said. She had never heard of the band prior to their performance.
It was interesting how Cloud Cult mixed the visual and audible elements, she said.
Management at the Bishop was also happy with the performance. Dan Coleman is in charge of booking the shows at the Bishop.
“It was a great show,” Coleman said. “Getting a crowd in the summer is always tricky for us, but we’re always happy to bring in more than a hundred people.”
Cloud Cult said they enjoyed playing in Bloomington.
“Bloomington is just a quintessential good rock venue,” Neary said.
The band will be continuing their Unplug tour throughout the summer. Their next tour date is Aug. 1, when they will be making their European debut in the Czech Republic’s Folk Holidays Festival.
