Band of Horses - Concert

[tshort]

Prior to Sunday, I had no idea who the "Band or Horses" are. I spent all day Sunday nursing a hangover after getting hammered at the Kansas football game Saturday night. Later that day my roomate says he'll buy my ticket and drinks if I go with him to the Band of Horses concert that night. I go to wikipedia to look them up and figure out I have heard a song on the radio and read a comparison to My Morning Jacket. I have listened to My Morning Jacket, so I forget about class in the morning and go to the show.

A guy named Chad Van Gaalen opens and he plays mostly by himself with a guitar, drums with his feet, and a harmonica around his neck. He played "Dancing in the Dark" by Springsteen and that was pretty good. He finishes with a jam session with a drummer, guitarist, and electric organist.

After an intermission, Band of Horses is set up. I first notice they have set up a confederate flag with an alien skull in front of it. The alien skull contains dry ice and water to emit a fog from the top and has eyes that change neon colors. I also thought it was crazy that they had four guitarists (including lead singer), but I have no idea about creating good music.

The second song they play is one I recognize titled "The Funeral" and the only other song I've heard is "The Great Salt Lake." My roomate says they keep messing up the tempo of some of the songs as compared to the album. They played probably 10 songs, the final two after what he said was a "fake encore so we can go back stage and drink more."

In general, I thought they were good and liked most of the songs they played. The lead singer, Ben Bidwell has an awesome voice. They will be touring in Vegas, large cities in CA, and other places in upcoming weeks. If you like any indie rock you should, if you already haven't, check these guys out.

[Quinn Warren]

What? They were in Lawrence Sunday? Oh, well, Wilco was retarded and scheduled Wichita in October, so I've got that.

Yes, Band of Horses are good.

[KJS]

About 1995 I lived in Bellingham, WA with a bunch of other punk college kids. A couple of us loved baseball and started a pick-up softball game at Fairhaven Park and later Grant St. park. In 1999 I moved to Seattle, where quite a few of my Bellingham friends already lived, along with other cool folks we knew. So we looked for a place to have our softball game. We settled on Garfield High School.

For the past 7 years, there has been a pick-up softball game there. Since we knew a lot of musicians quite a few folks from Seattle bands started coming to play, including the guys from Pretty Girls Make Graves and later, Ben from Band of Horses. Ben is one of the best softball players I know.

Anyway, this past summer when they wanted to film a video for Great Salt Lake, Ben said let's do it at softball. So they rolled out kegs, bottles of tequila and barbeques and shot it. You can see it here:

Great Salt Lake video

KJS

[Quinn Warren]

That is a sweet story (and good video). Thanks.

[SL__72]

I really wish I had seen them when they were in MN...

[RiverFenix]

They rule anyone that likes older built to spill should pick them up

[theblackkeys]

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I also thought it was crazy that they had four guitarists (including lead singer), but I have no idea about creating good music.

[/ QUOTE ]
Were they playing in unison? Or each playing a different part? Acoustic or electric, distortion or no? Did you perhaps confuse a bass with a guitar?

Anyways, I've never seen a live show with more than 2 guitarists that turned out being good. The guitar is such an upfront instrument that 1 is really all you need. If you have >2 guitars all turned up it ends up turning into a mess of sound. I guess it would be different if they were all playing the exact same melodic part.

Also, playing open and barred chords on electric guitar fills up so much space, lead or melodic lines less so for obvious reasons.

That's all, I just wanted to rain on your parade.

[tshort]

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[ QUOTE ]
I also thought it was crazy that they had four guitarists (including lead singer), but I have no idea about creating good music.

[/ QUOTE ]

Were they playing in unison? Or each playing a different part? Acoustic or electric, distortion or no? Did you perhaps confuse a bass with a guitar?

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That's all, I just wanted to rain on your parade.

[/ QUOTE ]

Obviously, I have confused a bass with a guitar, but are they not both types of guitars?

Thank you for raining on my parade. I will reiterate that I know jack [censored] about creating music.


My post should have been limited to Band of Horses being awesome.

[theblackkeys]

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[ QUOTE ]
I also thought it was crazy that they had four guitarists (including lead singer), but I have no idea about creating good music.

[/ QUOTE ]

Were they playing in unison? Or each playing a different part? Acoustic or electric, distortion or no? Did you perhaps confuse a bass with a guitar?

---

That's all, I just wanted to rain on your parade.

[/ QUOTE ]

Obviously, I have confused a bass with a guitar, but are they not both types of guitars?

[/ QUOTE ]
lol, yes. I thought you literally meant 4 regular guitars though, which is much different.

[ QUOTE ]

Thank you for raining on my parade. I will reiterate that I know jack [censored] about creating music.

[/ QUOTE ]
I wasn't trying, nor do you sound stupid because of what I said. I was just commenting on instrumentation in general. Usually more than one guitar causes trouble unless the players are tight and can control their sound. If not it sounds like a car accident.

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My post should have been limited to Band of Horses being awesome.

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I don't think they are but won't hold it against you for having different musical tastes than I.