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AUSTIN, TX- Stubbs was flooding with people the moment Jacks Mannequin left the stage. It was clear that Band of Horses was high on everyone’s SXSW to do list as attendees flocked towards the barricade to reserve their spot. I’ll admit, I only really knew their hit song The Funeral. I had probably passively scanned their most known album Everything All Time as a teen. I remember them being mentioned in casual conversation alongside bands like My Morning Jacket and Voxtrot. The Funeral was just so much bigger than the band that wrote it. This song was everywhere in 2006. It seemed as though every music supervisor for every coming of age movie had this song high on their list. I had countless mixed cds featuring this early oughts banger. Those jangly reverb intro guitars transport me back to High School, Tumblr core outfits, iPod shuffles, and falling asleep on the couch to DVD menus after the movie is over. Despite having all of this familiarity with Band Of Horses, I wouldn’t consider myself a real fan. So I relocated further to the back of Stubbs to watch the show with other armchair fans.
Lead singer and longest running member, Ben Bridwell, has one of those voices that could cut through glass. His first note was so powerful that I was grateful I wasn’t close to the speakers. Something I noticed during the set, was how much this band filled the space with sound. They were incredibly present, record perfect, and full of life. In some ways, the reputation of The Funeral has eclipsed the band so much that you forget what a solid live rock act they truly are. Bridwells voice is the star with its raspy throaty quality that evokes so much indie rock history, yet remains completely distinct from his counterparts. When its restrained, his voice is a near copy of James Mercer (The Shins). However, when Ben Bridwells voice soars with urgency, it has a depth reminiscent of Justin Vernon (Bon Iver).
Something that Band of Horses does so well is dynamics. They are experts at pulling back everything to have these soft intimate moments before exploding into noisy euphoria. Even Ben Bridwells voice will become remarkably and suddenly soft rather than taking those quieter moments to pull focus onto himself. Instead his voice walks alongside the instruments behind it and always matches their pace. By the time the band played The Funeral, I forgot that we were all waiting to hear it. The perfect execution, drenched whimsical guitars, thunderous drums and grit of Ben Bridwells vocal performance pulled me into a state of hyper presence. Band of Horses may have been a one hit wonder, but they don’t use that as an excuse to phone in the performance of their other songs. On the contrary, their entire performance woes you as you go deeper and deeper with them. Knowing all the words to some song you hear in a Indie romcom becomes irrelevant, as their music expands like a forest in front of you. I may have not been a real fan when the set started, but I left their set with a newfound respect for their artistry. I even went back and re-listened to some older records of theirs. Unfortunately, none of their recorded songs have the spark of their live performance. To get to know Band of Horses is to see them bring their songs to life on stage- even the songs that you didn’t remember to begin with.
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CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE ACTS WE CAUGHT AT SXSW!
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LIVE CLIPS
