Four Shows In Ten Days

Show #1  Bright Eyes, July 28, 2011- Gilford NH

It’s been a few years since I’ve seen Bright Eyes but it was well worth the wait. The band played songs from all of their full length albums over the  two-hour set. Frontman Connor Oberst was in great spirits and the band played old and new songs with the same amount of passion and intensity. Guitarist and produced Mike Mogis added quiet flourishes of pedal steel to many songs and also unleashed some great slide guitar leads on many songs including “If The Brakeman Turns My Way” and “Cartoon Blues”.

While the band did showcase a decent amount of songs from 2011′s “The People’s Key” it was not overbearing. The new songs sounded great in a live setting and really showcased how tight the band is. For me the older Bright Eyes sounded just as fresh as songs from the new record. “Lover I Don’t Have To Love” and “The Calendar Hung Itself” flawless in their execution and abandon.

The Best and most consistent songs were from 2005′s “I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning”. I’m guessing the band agrees since they played 7 of the 10 songs from the album. I would have to say the best song of the night was “Lua” with just Connor playing acoustic guitar and accompanied by Nate Walcot’s trumpet. My only problem with the entire show was the last song, “One For You, One For me”.  Though it  is a decent song i was hoping the show would end with a solo song or a more intense song from the whole band. All in all a great show and well worth the 5 hour roundtrip drive.

• Four Winds
   
• Bowl of Oranges
   
• Old Soul Song
   
• Haile Selassie
   
• Jejune Stars
   
• Take it Easy
   
• Lover I Don’t Have to Love
   
• Shell Games
   
• Approximate Sunlight
   
• Arc of Time
   
• Triple Spiral
   
• Cartoon Blues
   
• If The Brakeman Turns My Way
   
• Landlocked Blues
   
• Hot Knives
   
• Poison Oak
   
• Another Travelin’ Song
   
• The Calendar Hung Itself
   
• Ladder Song
   
• Encore:
• Lua
   
• First Day of My Life
   
• Road to Joy
   
• One For You, One For Me

Show #2 Deer Tick and Friends July 31, 2011  Newport, RI

This show took place on the night of the last day of the Newport Folk Festival. Luckily for me the “Friends” were Dawes and Middle Brother.  Deer Tick’s shows on friday and saturday were sold out and this was added at some point on saturday. As always I always try to go to Deer Tick shows and this one was a no brainer.

Dawes opened the show around 10:30. I don’t really like their studio albums but they were impressive live. Guitarist Taylor Goldsmith, who is also in Middle Brother is a great guitarist and bandleader. Though I wasn’t familiar with too many songs they put on a great show.

Deer Tick was next and as always they never disappoint. There set consisted of many new songs as well as some old favorites.  About half way through their set they were joined by Matt from Delta Spirit and Taylor from Dawes. They played one of my favorites, “Blue Eyes” as well as The Replacement’s “Portland” and Nirvana’s “Scentless Apprentice”. The night ended with Deer Tick playing “La Bamba” with M. Ward on lead guitar. Every Deer Tick show is a unique experience and this was no exception.

Show #3 Death Cab For Cutie August 1, 2011 Boston, MA

Like Bright Eyes, Death Cab For Cutie have been around a while and have a lot of songs to choose from and they are both touring in support of new albums.  While I’m not a huge fan of Death Cab’s new album the new songs sounded great. Like Bright Eyes they also played a career spanning set that lasted 2 hours.

The set opened with the bass rumpling of “I Will Possess Your Heart”. The bass at times was so intense you could actually feel it inside you.  The band played many new songs, some were executed better than others and many featured frontman Ben Gibbard on keys instead of guitar. Though the piano was much more present than past tours the group did break out some great guitar songs like “Crooked Teeth”, “Cath” and  ”We Looked Like Giants”.  The set also had its somber moments with Ben playing solo guitar on “I’ll Follow You Into The Dark” and the  full band Joining him on ” Grapevine Fires”.

The band ended the show with “Transatlanticism”, which is one of my favorite songs. I have seem them a few times and this was probably the best show so far. They are great musicians who are clearly passionate about their music.

1. I Will Possess Your Heart
2. Crooked Teeth
3. Why You’d Want To Live Here
4. Movie Script Ending
5. Door Unlocked and Opened
6. Long Division
7. Grapevine Fires
8. Codes+Keys
9. What Sarah Said
10. I Will Follow You Into The Dark
11. You Are A Tourist
12. The New Year
13. Underneath the Sycamore
14. Title and Registration
15. Soul Meets Body
16. Stay Young, Go Dancing
17. Cath…
18. We Looked Like Giants
19. The Sound of Settling

Encore:
20. Home Is A Fire
21. Expo ’86
22. Marching Bands of Manhattan
23. Transatlanticism

Show #4 Bon Iver August 6, 2011 Holyoke, MA

I didn’t really know what to expect from a Bon Iver show. Their music is moody, dark, beautiful yet uplifting in a strange way. The band’s new self titled album was released in June of this year.  I had mixed feelings about the album but hearing it live made me appreciate it much more and the nine piece band was amazing( two drummers, violon, 3 horns, bass, keys and guitar).

The band started off with “Perth”, one of the many songs played from the new album (they played 9 of the 10 new songs) and one of the many songs displaying the need for a nine piece band.  The band marched on through “Minnesota, WI” into “Towers”, which is probably the most straightforward song from the new album.  On the fifth song frontman/songwriter Justin Vernon finally brought out  an acoustic guitar to play the haunting “Holocene”.

Following “Holocene” was the achingly beautiful “Beach Baby” from the “Blood Bank” EP. This has always been one of my favorite songs and they did it more than justice. The electric guitars from the studio version were replaced with violin and horns that created a great backdrop to the lone acoustic guitar and mesmerizing vocals. After a couple of new songs they returned to the “Blood Bank” EP to play a rocking and much more electric version of “Blood Bank” that included guitar solos from Justin.

The end of the show featured many songs from their debut album “For Emma, Forever Ago”. Before the encore we were treated to a solo performance of my  favorite Bon Iver song “Re:Stacks” and “For Emma” which featured horns and slide guitar. The encore started with “Skinny Love”, which is probably their most well-known song.  Unfortunately this was followed by the worst song on “Bon Iver”, “Beth Rest”.  For the last song, “The Wolves (Act I and II) Justin asked the crowd to help sing “What might have been lost”. What resulted was thousand’s of fans singing along until the song ended. This is a band that I would highly recommend to check out.

• Perth
   
• Minnesota, WI
   
• Towers
   
• Brackett, WI
   
• Holocene
   
• Beach Baby
   
• Hinnom, TX
   
• Wash.
   
• Blood Bank
   
• Flume
   
• Michicant
   
• Re: Stacks
   
• Calgary
   
• For Emma
   
• Encore:
• Skinny Love
   
• Beth/Rest
   
• The Wolves (Act I and II)