Review: Columbus natives Evan Westfall and Taylor Meier of Caamp say 'thank you' during Friday concert
Childhood friends Evan Westfall and Taylor Meier of Caamp were welcomed last night by an enthusiastic audience at Nationwide Arena. Since forming the band in 2015, the Upper Arlington graduates have progressed from Ohio University coffee shops to arena tours, with their catchy, alternative blend of folk, bluegrass and rock.
Caamp’s Lavender Days tour brought a stage full of greenery, purple flowers, pastel instruments, cow hide rugs and strings of fairy lights. This, plus the band’s lavender suits, hinted at a touch of sentimentality, but the band delivered no such thing. Instead, they delivered brash confidence, along with a substantial repertoire of songsfrom both "Lavender Days" and their earlier albums.
Whether Meier is singing about colorful characters, shadowy introspection, running away to a new life, or a tender and sincere romance, his lyrics are forthright and honest. The band, as a whole, steers clear of cloying sentimentality and approaches even the deepest and most conflicting of emotions with a dose of good old Midwest resilience. Meier’s raspy vocals add both a gritty charm and a wholesome realness.
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Myriad styles appeal to many fans
Caamp is often called a folk band, but their style is a mix of nearly everything American — including bluegrass. “Just Wonderin” and “Great Heights” were memorable for their vitality, “By and By” for its tenderness.
By far, their most popular songs last night were folk-rock style songs such as “The Otter,” “By and By,” and “Hey Joe,” all of which had almost the entire audience singing along. “Believe” and “All the Debts I Owe” both were also exceptionally well-done.
Then there were the more pop-influenced songs such as "On & On & On" and "Officer of Love," the straight-up-rock "Going to the Country,” and a bold cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.”
Columbus guitarist Parker Louis joined the band for a moody, bluesy, intense "Moonsmoke,” with a long improvisational section between himself and Meier. “Fever” also clung tightly and effectively to its blues roots.
Because of the constant shifting of style, the set list never felt stale, and Caamp’s two hours seemed to fly by.
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Their first encore set was from the back stage, with Meier first performing the tender and powerful “Strawberries.”
Westfall then joined him for “26.” For a moment, the decades of friendship between the two became strikingly clear; with no other band members to support them, their chemistry and intuition shone through.
Trampled by Turtles a dynamic opener
Trampled by Turtles' electrifying opening set lit the crowd up with solid bluegrass style and seemingly impossible speed and accuracy. As ebullient as they are on recording, they’re much more so live, and the sextet on stage often sounded like a much bigger ensemble, thick with energy. It was impossible to sit still during tunes such as “Victory” and “The Middle,” or even during the more thoughtful “Where is My Mind?”
Trampled by Turtles positioned themselves as a hard act to follow, and they may rank as one of the best opening artists Columbus has seen in a long time.
As for Caamp, though, how do Westfall and Meier feel about performing in Nationwide Arena? They didn’t answer that question explicitly, but at one point, Meier looked out over the cheering crowd and said, "I'mpretty good with words, and I don't have any for this. Just — thank you."
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus band Caamp performs to eager crowd at Nationwide Arena Friday
