Seldom has a TV appearance brought a band as much attention as Future Islands’ Late Show With David Letterman performance in March. Much of the viral love shown to the trio’s rendition of “Seasons” that night was due to the outlandish antics of singer Samuel T. Herring, who at once evoked an edge-of-tears televangelist, shirt-tugging Quasimodo and grossly over-enthusiastic cater waiter. Sure, Herring came on like that sloppy-drunk co-worker at karaoke night — but only if said sloppy-drunk co-worker had a voice like Aaron Neville and a monument to functional minimalism as his backing band. While his distant-gaze intensity and speed-skater gyrations appeared utterly authentic, Herring’s Letterman antics were effectively a Trojan horse for Future Islands’ fantastically single-minded, taut and pathos-flecked synth-pop.

Thu., Nov. 20, 8 p.m., 2014
(Expired: 11/20/14)

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