Band of Horses performed to a near sold-out crowd last Saturday, August 29, at the beautiful Fox Theater in Pomona (photos at bottom). Ben Bridwell (above), with his customary beard short and neat-trimmed, led the group in a satisfying set made up mostly of favorites from their two full-length albums Everything All the Time (2006) and Cease To Begin (2007). The rest of the band included Tyler Ramsey (lead), Bill Reynolds (bass), Ryan Monroe (keys), and Creighton Barrett (drums).

Although I had had these tickets for months, I almost decided not to go when Indie Mom had a conflict and couldn’t attend. However, my lovely niece Chelsea was able to fill in when I decided to go after finding out that the floor was sold out. At our place near the front, we met a couple who had driven from Las Vegas for this show, and another who had come all the way from Salt Lake City. That is the kind of devotion that this homey, southern-themed band inspires.

They began the set with the popular “First Song,” which has never been one of my favorites, but continued on with foot-stomping, country-flavored renditions of “The Great Salt Lake” and “The General Specific” and rockers “Islands on the Coast” and “Ode to LRC” and pretty ballads “Marry Song” and “No One’s Gonna Love You.” Apart from the rockers, the tone was very country-flavored, as if Bridwell grew up listening to Levon Helm. The country theme was emphasized by the inclusion of the Gram Parsons cover.

Worked into the mix were a few songs that may appear on their third full-length, due out this fall. These may indicate that on the new album Bridwell is turning over more of the singing duties to other band members and introducing more harmonies. “Older” was sung by keyboardist Monroe with backing harmonies by Bridwell. The 12th song in the set was a duet by Bridwell and Tyler Ramsey.

Tyler Ramsey on lap steel

Setlist:
1. First Song
2. The Great Salt Lake
3. Is There a Ghost
4. Weed Party
5. Islands on the Coast
6. Older (live)
7. Marry Song
8. Window Blues (live)
9. unknown new song
10. Cigarettes and Wedding Bands
11. No One’s Gonna Love You
12. unknown new song: duet
13. The Funeral
14. Ode to LRC
15. The General Specific

The General Specific

Encore:
17. Our Swords
18. Song For You (live) (Gram Parsons cover)
19. Monsters

Live tracks from Bonnaroo 2009 found via Large-Hearted Boy blog

MySpace | Website | Label: Sub Pop
Buy: Sub Pop Store, Amazon.com, iTunes

Fox Theater photos: (click to embiggen)
Left, ceiling detail; right, crowd shot. Give me a holla if you see yourself.

Filed under: concert, Band of Horses, Ben Bridwell, Fox Theater

• alt-gramma (371)
• indie.mom (395)
• Uncle T (7)