Despite playing a fairly straightforward, unpretentious type of music, a lot of modern- and alt-rock bands treat the stage like a political platform and the microphone like a bullhorn.
Hurt front man J. Loren Wince has no patience for such abuse.
“Honestly, I wish they would shut the fuck up. They have no idea what they’re talking about,” Wince said. “There’s nobody more disassociated with the common man than somebody who lives on a bus. It’s not our place.”
As if the Virginia act somehow couldn’t seem more earnest, Hurt is currently on a months-long acoustic tour across the country, stripping out the electronic noise of its radio hits like “Falls Apart” and “Rapture,” and filling the void with simple strings and the virtuosic help of Juilliard-trained cellist Patrice Jackson.
“When you’re playing acoustic, it opens up a whole new realm of freedom,” Wince said. “It kinda lets all the musicians shine, to do what they’re comfortable with. We’ve learned to play together better, and that’s really important to us.”
Originally scheduled to run through last November, the tour expanded to include more acoustic shows through March, almost up to the April release of the group’s sixth album, “The Crux.”
Hurt’s
Tuesday-night date with The Conservatory and the following day’s stop
at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa will be two of the last chances to hear the
band unplugged from its typically oversized speakers.
“It
will be pretty sad to see the acoustic shows go, because it’s been a
lot of fun,” Wince said. “[They’re] out of the ordinary — a very
fulfilling experience. You get to jam a lot and it’s not too
structured.”
The
only original member of the band, Wince has been playing with bassist
Rek Mohr since 2008, although guitarist Michael Roberts and drummer
Victor Ribas were more recent additions. Wince said the acoustic tour
has strengthened their rapport, something that attentive fans have
noticed and appreciated.
“I
thought it was important, instead of running out, to take the time to
get to know each other as musicians, and sound like a band that’s been
playing together for 10 or 20 years,” Wince said. “That’s what we were
going for and that’s where we’ve been getting.”
