Freed and I checked out Band of Horses at King King last night, another Hollywood venue that was new to me. They were opening for Eagle Rock’s Earlimart, who I saw not all that long ago, around the same time I first saw Band of Horses. Earlimart was good, and sounded much like they did back in October, but with a whole new assortment of tracks, presumably recent results from ongoing recording sessions. Oh and Josh Ritter played as well, and while I mostly wasn’t feeling his stuff, there was what must have been a 10 minute epic, “Thin Blue Flame,” midway through the set that was amazing. All I remember was this string of lines mid-song as it built momentum: “Singing about vengeance like it’s the joy of the lord / Bringing justice to the enemies and not the other way around / They’re guilty where killed and they killed where they’re found.” Very Springsteen, totally moving. It was a great intro, but I (as well as a good segment of the crowd) was really there to see Horses in the context of their record, released the day before.
Off the bat, I have to say that I’m really enjoying Everything All The Time. The recording quality is fantastic, and while the songs are very true to the demos & live versions available prior, the production improves on their effect like chocolate syrup on a flourless cake. The album artwork is also really great, filled with ephemeral portraits of built Americana by Christopher Wilson that remind me of the photos from Modest Mouse’s Lonesome Crowded West. The album has a bit of a slow burn ending, but its heights are strong enough that I’m totally digging it.
I went expecting a change in their sound, having heard (ok, fine… read) that they recently added a 5th member on guitar & keyboards. But they took the stage as 4 and later explained that guitarist/whispery (read: Iron & Whiney) vocalist Mat Brooke couldn’t make it. Thus they played a similar set to the one they played back in October, sans keyboards, focusing on the more upbeat tracks from the album. Lead vocalist, Ben Bridwell even looked like he might be wearing the same clothes and meshback Georgia hat as last time… This ended up to be in my favor because I felt a little less embarrassed after seeing by his raggedy shirt for having shown up wearing a sweater with an unnecessarily high holes-to-limbs ratio. You know, I don’t remember if they played “Our Swords” last time, but they broke out the second bass to play it this time. They also played a sped-up version of “(Biding Time Is A) Boat Row,” which was good, but in my opinion less effective than the somber live version from the EP. They also broke out a great song I hadn’t heard that I’ll just call “No One’s Gonna Love You More Than I Do,” though I bet the real title is a winner.
The fairly well-packed crowd adored them, particularly a group up front of what I hope were friends of the band but seemed to just be a surprisingly loud and borderline homoerotic fan club. But they sorta had it right anyway: by the time Horses pulled out “The Funeral” for a finale, we were all singing along like they were.
Oh look, you can check out the March 4th show in Seattle (including that “No One” song) courtesy San Diego Serenade.
(thanks go to substance(s) for the photo)
: Band of Horses - The Funeral :
: Band of Horses - Wicked Gil (demo) :
: Josh Ritter - Thin Blue Flame :
I actually came for Josh Ritter and stayed for Band of Horses and left during Earlimart. =) I’m a huge Josh Ritter fan and his classic songwriting style. However, I was very impressed by Band of Horses and I’ve since listened to their album numerous times. The friends upfront were obnoxious, but I think I was more distracted by the seven foot guy during the Earlimart set. He had to stand near the front!
ha. yeah i was on the side and didn’t notice him, but that always bugs me. on the other hand i feel bad when i try to get up close and my super-tall friends are too self-conscious to join me.
i hadn’t heard of ritter before, but i thought he was alright. that one song was just incredible though.
[…] I’ve been enjoying Band of Horses new record, Everything all the Time, quite a bit. The twangy side of rock usually doesn’t draw me in too much but these guys know how to put some good songs together. It probably doesn’t hurt that 2/5 of them were in one of my favorite underrated bands, Carissa’s Weird. Topo and Freed were hyping up their live show after seeing them a out in LA, so I decided to check them out. Last night was the third night of sold out NY shows (2 at Bowery Ballroom). I don’t know what the rest of the tour has been like, but the band seemed almost awestruck, and certainly appreciative of the tremendous reception they’ve had here. Towards the end, lead singer Ben Bridwell commented “If you would have told me two years ago that we’d be playing to this type of crowd on a Sunday night I’d have shit my pants”. The band were truly enjoying themselves up there. From the opening song, ‘Monsters’ they confidently pushed through the best songs on the record. They also threw in a couple of new songs that sounded great as well and one that ‘didn’t fit on the record’ that will find an EP release sometime soon. The band threw in a cover of Hall and Oates ‘You Make My Dreams Come True’, which while in true Band of Horses fashion, was kind of plodding and definitely not my highlight of the evening. Bridwell’s singing impressed me most. He was spot on all night and the vocals were featured higher in the mix then on record which gave his words much more immediacy. They finished the night on a high note rocking through ‘Funeral’. […]
[…] I know we’ve dedicated a lot of words to Band of Horses recently, but I wanted to post a quick note on their show in Los Angeles last week. They are just that good. They were solid this time, as they have been all 3 times I’ve seen them. Sera Cahoone opened, and played a great country set, of which “Couch Song” was my favorite. I don’t think much of the crowd recognized, but Sera played drums along with Mat and Ben in Carrisa’s Wierd, as well as on 3 of the tracks on the Horses’ album. The crowd warmed to her regardless. Freed compared her voice (elegant, but plain; sweet, but with some experience to it) to someone, but I can’t remember who he named. Her band was followed by Mt. Egypt, who I’ve seen in some form at each of the 3 Horses shows: opening at The Echo last October, and then when Travis was in the crowd at the show in Hollywood in March. […]