If your sister's wedding conflicts with the next time
Band of Horses are in town, send her a card. Bands this in demand dont play all too often (though, they will be returning to play
Terminal 5 next week). The groups October 20th performance as part of the
Sub Pop CMJ Showcase at the
Bowery Ballroom must have left at least a hundred yearning young folk in the cold, praying that maybe theyll find a way through the doors in time to see the lights dim and hear the crowd roar.
Those who did were treated to a great rock band circa 1972: jeans, boots, shirts, and beards. Flanked by an impressive armada of guitars,
Ben Bridwell is a commanding presence propped up behind the pedal steel. Leaning into the microphone, Bridwell asked, "Hi there. How are you?" The electric atmosphere that followed provided the answer to that question. This was the first time I had ever seen Band of Horses live, and it is safe to say I went into the show a bit naive. Those low fidelity MP3's on MySpace from which I had become a fan of pale in comparison to the bands live sound and presence. Throughout the performance, it was all too easy to feel the passion of Bridwell's voice
the melodies seemed to flow right through my veins with every word.
Song after song, Band of Horses holds one captive to their epic soliloquy. Even after two hours, and two encores, I felt invigorated to hear more. Live, the bands performance brings another dimension of intensity and awe to their inspiringly gifted songs. Band of Horses offer good old fashioned, or perhaps new fashioned Rock 'N Roll. And if you don't own their records, redo your budget for the week and work in an extra fifteen dollar line items for Band of Horses' newest Sup Pop release
Cease to Begin. -
Jeffrey Swart
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MP3: Band of Horses:: Is There a Ghost from Cease to Begin
Band of Horses on MySpace
