Neon Trees Are Poppin' Up In Cleveland

Photo credit: Mathew Hartman

 The Neon Trees are getting intimate. After three years away, the alt-pop band returns to Cleveland this Friday for its new small venues tour, An Intimate Night Out With Neon Trees, at the House of Blues. Although the band hasn’t released an album since 2014's Pop Psychology, the mostly poppy, slightly rocky band released its single, “Songs I Can’t Listen To,” earlier this May. “The most important thing for us has always been to write and record and play music that we all enjoy,” says the band’s drummer Elaine Bradley. We tune in with Bradley to see what the band will be turning up on its latest tour.

Q: Why did you decide to take the tour to more intimate settings? 
A: This tour was kind of a selfish venture. We just kind of, almost last-minute were like, We don’t want to not tour this year, and we kind of want to see the fans, and we want to play music. And so we just decided to do a smaller tour for people that care. And also, there’s like this, raw energy that happens when you play in a smaller venue and don’t use all the bells and whistles and all the production and all the stage pieces. It’s just you playing your music, and people enjoying your music. There’s something really cool about that.

Q: You recently announced that you’ll be adding a third little one to your family and are currently touring while pregnant. What’s that been like for you? 
A: First of all, being on tour pregnant basically just makes everything less comfortable. It’s one of those things where my husband and I are on the same page. He really loves being a stay-at-home dad, and I really love playing music. And so long as that works where we’re on the same page, then we do it. And it’s one of those things where I don’t really see myself being a touring artist until like, 50 or 60. So you do the sacrifices up front to have more time later. But for now, it works and maybe the kids will think it’s cool. The problem is your own kids don’t think you’re as cool as anybody else does.

Q: You’ve been touring for over a month now. What’s the most exciting thing to happen so far?
A: There’s just been an energy and a vibe and so many people have shown up and been singing every word. ‘Cause you know, this is more for fans. So I think the shows themselves have been the most unique and exciting part, and just seeing people’s reactions. It’s always confusing to be at a Neon Trees show and look out at the audience and you’re like, These people seemingly have no ties to each other. They’re all different types of people. Like, they didn’t come together, you know? But it’s so cool because it’s the music they came for, and it creates a very cool vibe when you have a bunch of different types of people enjoying the same thing.