Band of Horses, The Bluebird, 6.8.2006
Friday, June 9, 2006
Band of Horses, who played a loud, fiery set last night, are most often compared to My Morning Jacket, for the obvious Americana thing and striking similarities between lead singer Ben Bridwell’s voice and that of Jim James. But after the performance last night, Bridwell actually came off as the better live singer, sounding more like if Southern Accents-era Tom Petty were a rubber band, and he was stretched the length of a 2×4. Bridwell was also much, much more affable and geeky than James, staying in a near-constant dialogue with the crowd, a few times humorously telling them “hold on, you’ll screw us up,” and often seeming genuinely amazed at their loud reception. After just about every song ended and right before the applause began, Bridwell would approach the microphone and stand with his hands raised (see above) in what was either an honest celebration of community and music (probably) or a very visible tic/symptom of an unfortunate mental deficiency (probably not, but still kinda funny). For its rather small size, the crowd was incredibly loud, attributable to the large proportion of fratties and sorority chix present, many drinking much larger beers than I’ve ever seen served there (I think they have a special pass or something), and most acting as loud and boisterous as any band that sounds like Band of Horses would probably want. It’s easy to resent the popped-Polo crowd infiltrating the holy sanctuary of indie rock, but it’s also lame. Last night, they were the most fervent audience members, singing along to every song (except the several new ones, which indicate that the band isn’t exactly going for the challenging sophmore album) and screaming at the completion of each. The usual indie kid suspects were hanging around politely to be sure, but tended toward the wallflowerish pose (save the few brave ones who danced), lest they be seen as too aligned with the jammies. The show? Oh yeah, that. It was great—I’m not overly familiar with the band, but I knew that I wouldn’t have to be to enjoy them—each song flowed rather seamlessly into the next, all consisting of the same earnestness, panoramic sentiment and airy riffing, which sounded pretty great in the Bluebird, probably the only bar venue in Bloomington capable of holding and representing that type of sound. The best part by far, though, was a cover (isn’t that always the case? er.) of, yes, Hall and Oates’ “You Make My Dreams,” which was reimagined as a spare, slow, and actually pretty heartfelt singalong (the audience filled in the “woo-oo, woo-oo-oo-oo-oo’s”) that reminded me of this. I’m working on getting the video out of Ye Olde Powere Shote, but don’t hold yr virtual breaths. Oh yeah, this guy was there as well.
Band of Horses, who played a loud, fiery set last night, are most often compared to My Morning Jacket, for the obvious Americana thing and striking similarities between lead singer Ben Bridwell’s voice and that of Jim James. But after the performance last night, Bridwell actually came off as the better live singer, sounding more like if Southern Accents-era Tom Petty were a rubber band, and he was stretched the length of a 2×4. Bridwell was also much, much more affable and geeky than James, staying in a near-constant dialogue with the crowd, a few times humorously telling them “hold on, you’ll screw us up,” and often seeming genuinely amazed at their loud reception. After just about every song ended and right before the applause began, Bridwell would approach the microphone and stand with his hands raised (see above) in what was either an honest celebration of community and music (probably) or a very visible tic/symptom of an unfortunate mental deficiency (probably not, but still kinda funny). For its rather small size, the crowd was incredibly loud, attributable to the large proportion of fratties and sorority chix present, many drinking much larger beers than I’ve ever seen served there (I think they have a special pass or something), and most acting as loud and boisterous as any band that sounds like Band of Horses would probably want. It’s easy to resent the popped-Polo crowd infiltrating the holy sanctuary of indie rock, but it’s also lame. Last night, they were the most fervent audience members, singing along to every song (except the several new ones, which indicate that the band isn’t exactly going for the challenging sophmore album) and screaming at the completion of each. The usual indie kid suspects were hanging around politely to be sure, but tended toward the wallflowerish pose (save the few brave ones who danced), lest they be seen as too aligned with the jammies. The show? Oh yeah, that. It was great—I’m not overly familiar with the band, but I knew that I wouldn’t have to be to enjoy them—each song flowed rather seamlessly into the next, all consisting of the same earnestness, panoramic sentiment and airy riffing, which sounded pretty great in the Bluebird, probably the only bar venue in Bloomington capable of holding and representing that type of sound. The best part by far, though, was a cover (isn’t that always the case? er.) of, yes, Hall and Oates’ “You Make My Dreams,” which was reimagined as a spare, slow, and actually pretty heartfelt singalong (the audience filled in the “woo-oo, woo-oo-oo-oo-oo’s”) that reminded me of this. I’m working on getting the video out of Ye Olde Powere Shote, but don’t hold yr virtual breaths. Oh yeah, this guy was there as well.
i’m really, really, really, really looking forward to seeing these guys next week, in hoboken (yeah. we’re from boston, but we’re trekking on over).
you lined out the popped-Polo crowd thing very well. i had a feeling band of horses moved to that category – the college trendy thing – but i don’t know that i care. i love their sound, i’m a sucker for sunshine pop, and if i’m standing amongst the kids who look a little like they belong to a preppy frat… well. that’s okay with me.
lovely write-up, as usual. did anyone open up for them?
Same idea at the show in Detroit. The all ages thing was interesting, as always, but I was most annoyed by those selfsame sorostitutes/frat losers. Awful. Rude. Horribly obnoxious, but I get the idea not nearly as rowdy as the Bloomington show. Ben was similarly affable and enthusiastic. There were minor technical snafoos throughtout the show, but the band (with 2 dudes from Mt. Egypt) pulled through and executed their heavy yet airy songs very well. Heard the last song from The Can’t See, much better then anything Mt. Egypt played. The only decent song played by them, and lacking a vulgar amount of hubris by the singer, was fronted by Bridwell. Looking forward to what this band will offer in the future. They’re a fierce brood…