o What: Lifehouse, in concert.
o When: 8 p.m. Nov. 24.
o Where: Roseland Theater, 8 N.W. Sixth Ave., Portland.
o Cost: $30 through TicketsWest, 800-992-8499 or http://ticketswest.com.
o Information: 503-224-2038 or http://roselandpdx.com.
For years, fans that have known Lifehouse mainly for its pop-oriented radio singles have been caught off guard when they came to see the band play live.
“We do have pop, radio-friendly songs, and when people come out to the shows, I think they’re shocked that the band rocks that hard,” drummer Rick Woolstenhulme Jr. said in a recent phone interview.
But it’s not like Lifehouse hasn’t been trying to get the harder-hitting side of its music across on album. On both of its last two CDs, the group has shown that there’s more to its sound than poppy midtempo tunes and ballads.
The approach Lifehouse took to getting started on “Smoke & Mirrors” was especially conducive to capturing more of the group’s live sound.
o What: Lifehouse, in concert.
o When: 8 p.m. Nov. 24.
o Where: Roseland Theater, 8 N.W. Sixth Ave., Portland.
o Cost: $30 through TicketsWest, 800-992-8499 or http://ticketswest.com.
o Information: 503-224-2038 or http://roselandpdx.com.
“We went literally from the road into the studio and started cutting everything live, all in the same room,” Woolstenhulme said. “Right off the bat, the first track we recorded was ‘Smoke & Mirrors.’ It took on this kind of Americana, organic, live feel. It was great.”
Trying to represent both sides of the group’s sound — rocking live songs and crafted radio-friendly tunes — wasn’t Lifehouse’s only goal for “Smoke & Mirrors.”
Woolstenhulme said the band was also intent on exploring some fresh dimensions in its sound, something that’s apparent on “Here Tomorrow Gone Today,” with its Middle Eastern textures, and “Nerve Damage,” which shifts from moody, quiet verses into a power-pop chorus and driving instrumental segment.
Despite those experiments, Woolstenhulme feels the songs won’t sound foreign to Lifehouse fans.
“It’s weird, any time we got outside of the box, it’s still a fresh take, but it still has the Lifehouse sound,” he said. “I guess that’s from years of literally playing together.”
Indeed, “Smoke & Mirrors” sounds very much like a Lifehouse album even with the occasional stylistic departure or fresh sonic treatment.
The band rocks as assertively as it ever has on songs such as “All In” and the title track. But even in these brisk settings, the songs offer big pop choruses that would work for radio. And when Lifehouse dials back a bit on the intensity as on the midtempo tune “Falling In” and the ballad “It Is What It Is,” the band once again creates songs that sound like they have the potential to be crossover pop-radio hits.
Lifehouse established its sound with great success at the outset of its career with the 2000 CD, “No Name Face.” That album featured the hit single “Hanging By a Moment,” which became one of the most played radio tracks of 2001.
The band’s second CD, “Stanley Climbfall,” though, failed to connect on the same level. By spring 2004, two members of the group — bassist Sergio Andrade and guitarist Sean Woolstenhulme (Rick’s brother) — left the group.
Rick Woolstenhulme and singer/guitarist Jason Wade were the only band members remaining when recording began on the self-titled third CD.
“That was an interesting period,” Woolstenhulme said. “We went out east to Maryland, and we recorded that record in a house. So it was almost like the surroundings and the vibe and where we were at the time, that’s kind of what came out artistically.”
“Lifehouse” was a more crafted album that furthered the idea of Lifehouse being a pop-oriented, radio-friendly group. It also brought the band back to the top of the charts with the hit single “You and Me.” Bassist Bryce Soderberg joined the group on that album, which restored the group to a full lineup.
The group recently added guitarist Ben Carey, who had been in the touring lineup, to return Lifehouse to a quartet.
Lifehouse spent the first couple of months that followed the spring release of “Smoke & Mirrors” touring as the opening act on Daughtry’s arena tour.
Now the band has begun its first headlining tour in the U.S. since the release of the CD. The band is covering a lot of ground musically in the show.
“We’re doing things from all five albums because we have fans that have literally been there from the beginning,” Woolstenhulme said. “So there are a lot of songs that we haven’t played too much on the road that we’re displaying now, and some of the old ones, we’ve changed the face of them a little bit and stirred them up a little bit to where it’s like, it’s just a new, fresh take on some of the old songs. It’s tricky, but luckily we have a bunch of recognizable songs.”
