Band of Horses at the Fox Theater, Boulder

Band of Horses began their tour March 15th with a sold out show in Boulder at one of my favorite venues.

The band sounded amazingly tight on the new material, especially so early in the tour. There were a LOT of new songs, but Ben Bridwell chose to forestall any concerns about that by saying "yeah, I know we're playing a lot of new songs, but that doesn't mean we forgot the old stuff... we're just gonna play a shitload of songs tonight". No complaints were heard from the audience.

Highlights included the General Specific, First Song and Great Salt Lake. It was particularly startling and rewarding to see how absolutely comfortable Bridwell looks on stage, how in command of the material and the audience. When I saw them at the Fox in September, 2006 Bridwell seemed a bundle of nerves, worried about disappointing, visibly hoping to get The Funeral out of the way and move onto songs the audience knew less well. What a difference 4 years on the road makes. This band has never sounded better, now is the time to see them live if you get the chance.

Crappy setlist (half-assed and written on my arm) and photos below:







setlist
new song (x2)
Great Salt Lake
Weed Party
new song
Islands on the Coast
Marry Song
new song
No One's Gonna Love You
new song (x2)
Wicked Gil
Ode to the LRC
The Funeral
General Specific
[encore]
First Song
Detlef Schrempf
Yo La Tengo cover

update: just realized I forgot Is There a Ghost in My House, but where in the set?  Damn memory.

Bon Iver, Fox Theater, Boulder on June 12th

When you drive 2+ hours from Laramie to a show, it's easy to be a little worried about seeing a "mellow" artist before hitting the road back home after midnight. The right combination of quiet pretty songs and a swig of Jameson at the show can mean a long ride north.

On his second date in the Front Range this weekend, Bon Iver led off on Sunday with the beautiful Flume and while I loved it, I worried about the mellow factor. No need for alarm as Justin Vernon and his band turned up the volume and re-arranged all the favorites from For Emma, Forever Ago in a way that no one could call "mellow". Creature Fear knocked the sold-out crowd's socks right off and we knew no one was falling asleep.

Even with the sweltering guitars, the lyrics from his indie torch song masterpiece proved more affecting that I anticipated. There are very few shows indeed where I tear up and feel truly heartsick over the music, but Sunday was one of those nights. Bon Iver's songs forgo cliche in favor of an emotional landscape that is muddy and slippery and true in some elemental way.

I knew I loved Skinny Love before the 3 person percussion was added, but I liked it loud in the live setting. And Blood Bank never really worked for me until this show and the Neil Young/ Crazy Horse encore treatment it received.

But getting back to those lyrics, man, they come at you when sung live to a hushed crowd. Re: Stacks topped my wishlist of songs to hear Sunday, and it topped my all-time list of amazing-gorgeous-powerful songs to hear live. Friends in the Pacific Northwest used to tell me about girls crying through Eliot Smith sets and I felt like one of those girls Sunday night. When it came time to sing along with Wolves (Act I and II), my quiet "what might have been lost" joined with what seemed like the rest of Boulder.

It took Bon Iver a long time to make it to the Rockies, let's hope he comes back. Soon.

Live Preview: The Faint, Land of Talk, Rosebuds

The early part of this week offers a couple interesting shows. Day job responsibilities will likely keep me in Laramie, but tell me about the shows if you go.

June 4th & 5th: The Faint @ the Fox Theatre, Boulder
I've never seen them but people keep telling me I would love their live show. Curious -- maybe it's a Nebraskan thing?

June 5th: The Rosebuds with Land of Talk and Everything Absent or Distorted @ the Larimer Lounge, Denver
This promises to be a good show... I like the Rosebuds' brand of dark dance music, and Everything Absent should draw a good local crowd. PFork offered some inscrutible details about Land of Talk tour drama, so keep an eye out for shenanigans and cross yer fingers that they found a new drummer.

The West's Best Music Venues

Paste Magazine gives a list this week of the 40 best music venues in the country, two of them in our own backyard. Red Rocks is a given, and I'm happy to see the Fox on the list as I saw two of my favorite shows there last year. Check out the full article for shout outs to other faves including the Crocodile, the Tractor, the Gorge and First Ave.

Red Rocks - Morrison, Colo.
Best place to have your mind blown by music and nature: Hearing the majestic sound bounce off the natural amphitheater of red sandstone monoliths named “Ship Rock” and “Creation Rock” is a must for any true music fan’s “before I die” list. Since it’s in the middle of a State park, even if you’re not U2 (remember the video for “Sunday Bloody Sunday”?) you can jump onstage on off-days and play for the make-believe masses.
Playing this month: Norah Jones (6/1), John Mayer. (6/15-16)
18300 West Alameda Parkway, RedRocksOnline.com

Fox Theatre - Boulder, Colo.
Best place to find the spirit of New York’s legendary Wetlands: The Fox opened its doors in 1991 to great fanfare, as the old-movie-theater-turned-concert-hall welcomed The Meters to the foothills of the Rockies. Designed by members of The Samples for optimal sound, the Fox was the spot for numerous secret one-offs by the Allman Brothers, Phish and even Bob Dylan.
Introduced the world to: Devotchka, Yonder Mountain String Band, Big Head Todd & The Monsters, The String Cheese Incident
1135 13th St., FoxTheatre.com

[thx to brooklynvegan]