Band of Horses, The Earl, 12/28/07
I saw Band of Horses at the Earl last night. Anna Kramer and the Lost Cause opened; I have to say how happy I was to finally see Anna Kramer and the Lost Cause live. I had heard great things, but just never got around to it, and they were pretty amazing. Fun and talented and rocking and I totally dug their cover of Merle Haggard’s “The Bottle Let Me Down.” I will be seeing them again, and I recommend you do the same.
Band of Horses opened with “Ghost in My House.” The crowd loved it. Speaking of the crowd, it was a very strange crowd for The Earl – I am guessing a lot of them had never been there before. A curse on the house of the guy continually shouting “Herschel for Heisman!” I mean, I love the Dawgs, too, but shut the hell up, it’s not a football game.
I’m not one for writing down setlists, but I know they played the following songs (there are probably some I’m forgetting):
Great Salt Lake
LRC
No One’s Gonna Love You
Detlef Shrempf
The Funeral
“Lamb of the Lam (In the City)” was one of the high points of the show for me. It sounded free-wheeling and joyous. Bridwell played the tambourine with what appeared to be a plastic prop axe. I was a little surprised at the way Bridwell belted out the songs, how great their harmonies sounded, and at the range they seem to have as a band. I liked that their covers showed other facets of their talents than what we’ve seen on their albums: CCR’s “Effigy,” the fairly obscure “Am I a Good Man” by Them Two, and J.J. Cale’s “Thirteen Days” were unexpected choices. They also played a new song, but I didn’t get the name. I think they said it was the first time that they played it. Sounded great, though, and was a fun, upbeat-sounding song. My overall take on BOH is a talented live band who really seemed to enjoy playing for the crowd. And, um, they have great facial hair.
I kind of wish I could see their shows the next few nights, too. If you are seeing their other EARL shows, I’d love to know what you think.
More pics on flickr.