On Wednesday night, South Carolina-by-way-of-Seattle sextet Band of Horses played a sold-out show at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, MA. These mostly bearded rockers played a wide-ranging and joyous 17-song set of sugary, mid-tempo melodic pop and winsome, rootsy ballads.
The night began with "Is There A Ghost," the band's lead single from their much raved about sophomore disc Cease To Begin, which was released last fall on SubPop and is the follow-up to their 2006 debut CD Everything All The Time. From there, the crowd of mostly indie hipsters and scattered older, classic-rock-era fans took in the band's anthemic Neil Young-meets-My Morning Jacket style of rock and roll and twangy americana (in the vein of The Band) with delight all night long.
Loud cheers went up when the first notes rang out for their older, southern jangle-pop numbers like "The Great Salt Lake," "Weed Party," and of course "Funeral," Band of Horses' best known song (which can still be heard and seen on a TV near you via a Ford advertisement).
Slower, more country-influenced tracks such as "Monsters" and the Rhodes piano-led "Marry Song" were executed to perfection and appreciated, but didn't quite get the rousing reaction from fans that the louder numbers did. One audience member shouted "play 'St. Augustine'" — a gorgeous Neil Young-ish tune from EATT-- about half way through the show, to no avail.
But there was really not much to complain about as far as song choices are concerned, as the band played about 13 of the 20 songs found on both albums, plus a couple of rare cuts and covers. The latter included CCR's "Effigy," J.J. Cale's bluesy "13 Days," and Chicago's "Feelin' Stronger Every Day," which ended this great night on a high note.
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