Band of Horses - Palace Theatre, Melbourne (3rd Aug, 2010)

6 August 2010 by Jess White

It must be July in Melbourne because it’s cold, wet and the inner city is jam packed with twenty something’s on their way to Splendour in the Grass sideshows and the Melbourne International Arts Festival. Night one in a very busy two week schedule of gigs and films, commenced with Seattle’s finest indie export Band of Horses.

As I made my way into the Palace Theatre, I was intrigued at how tonight’s support slot would be received, as Melbourne’s own Mike Noga & the Gentlemen of Fortune haven’t played venues this big under this moniker. But when your members come from various bands such as The Drones, Dallas Crane, The Gin Club and The Ladyboz, one shouldn’t be concerned about their ability to transfix an audience. Fronted by Mike Noga from The Drones, the “gentlemen” ripped through a set that folk/rock/blues that warmed the audience for what was to come. Dan Luscombe also from The Drones was a welcome addition on the keys, although the majority of his good work was lost due to a muddy sound mix.

A short intermission saw the sell out crowd swarm in to catch the main attraction for the night, when Band of Horses took the stage as a two piece and Ben Birdwell informed the audience that the other members had gone their separate ways over creative differences, a few rumblings wandered around the crowd. However, a slight smirk on his bearded face lead the more seasoned fan to believe that he was only pulling our leg. Opening with Ode to LRC off 2007’s Cease to Begin it was clear the band wanted to kick things off with a bang. Mid-way through the first song the other three members joined them on stage to the applause of the audience, and they spent the next 20 minutes swiftly running though tracks off their opening two albums. Northwest Apartment was an early highlight, as was The Great Salt Lake complete with amazing visuals and Is There a Ghost had the capacity crowd enthralled.

However, in the opinion of this reviewer this is where the gig went downhill. As it appeared that the band were running through motions and the emotion that was evident in their previous trip down under was lacking. Their stage show seemed a little contrived, the visuals which started off inspired and relevant descended into an amateurish slide show of band photos and landscapes.

The funeral perked my interest towards the end of their set, however by this stage my mind had wondered off as I stood there watching the crowd and wondering why they were enjoying every minute of a show that I just couldn’t connect with.

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