Live @ the TLA at the Fillmore, Philadelphia
On Tuesday, January 22, solo artist Tyler Ramsey and the group Cass McCombs opened up for Band of Horses in front of a packed house on South Street's finest music venue. With facial hair and enthusiasm at a premium, the crowd came to life with every set.
Band of Horses
Apart from already having reached #35 on the Billboard Top 200 with Cease to Begin, Band of Horses once again emitted an array of harmonious sounds their hit album didn't cover. When they performed Tuesday, January 22 in downtown Philadelphia, the crowd beckoned to the bubbly bearded fellows of BoH.
The organic and sappy voice of Ben Bridwell sang dearly to the audience from start to finish while members Creighton Barrett (drums), Rob Hampton (guitar), Ryan Monroe (keyboard/backup vocals), Tyler Ramsey (guitar) and Bill Reynolds (bass) all backed him with a sensatious orchestrated melody.
Bridwell's presence emulated as they opened up with "Monsters". This song proved quite perfect as the show started up somewhat quiet, then as the song kicked in about two minutes into the song. The drums and bass kicked in, complimented by the lights all at once; a light feeling ran through my fingertips as the four guitarists on stage played the light BOH melodies in accord.
The show truly took off once "Is There A Ghost", a crowd favorite off of Cease to Begin, was plucked away, then built up into a placid fan fury. Soon following up was "The Great Salt Lake" and "Marry Song", two songs dwelling on upbeat patterns careening off of the high notes. At this point in the show, Bridwell was playing to the fans and song titles were being yelled out, yet not played, such as "No One's Gonna Love You", "Ode to LRC" and their most popular song to date "Funeral".
Band of Horses - Effigy (live) (Creedence Clearwater Revival Cover)
A few things came into light as the show went on: "Ode to LRC" was their crowd pleaser, as the sell-out crowd sung along, "Laaaa, laaaa. de, daaa, daaaaa!". Videographers on the sides of the stage pointed their cameras to the crowd capturing the delight of the crowd as they sung in unison "The world is such a wonderful place!" This was truly the bands moment of zen for the night. The wholesome lyrics, the elated feeling of the crowd, and pure love for the band was felt all around.
Finalizing "LRC" with a swift pull back from the mic, Bridwell leaned forward and spoke to the crowd, "This is a song about living...." and began to play Band of Horses best song, lyrically that is, "The Funeral". The lyrics of this song truly hit home seeing this live:
Set List (below)
I'm coming up only to hold you under
I'm coming up only to show you wrong
And to know you is hard and we wonder
To know you all wrong, we were
Really too late to call, so we wait for
Morning to wake you; it's all we got
To know me as hardly golden
Is to know me all wrong, they were
At every occasion I'll be ready for a funeral
At every occasion once more is called a funeral
Every occasion I'm ready for the funeral
At every occasion one brilliant day funeral (x2)
I'm coming up only to show you down for
I'm coming up only to show you wrong
To the outside, the dead leaves, they all blow (alive is very poetic)
For'e (before) they died had trees to hang their hope
As you can see, we have their set list, which was not followed through as depicted, but is tit-for-tat for the most part. Also notice, the second song is listed as "Snow", which is actually their demo version of "The First Song" from Everything All The Time. You can listen to their demo version on their MySpace page. Their last song on the set before the encore was "Writers", which Bridwell sung with his long time friend and keyboardist, "... since he was 4 years old" (says Bridwell), Ryan Monroe.
When they finally walked off stage, empty beer bottles in hand, the crowd summoned the band back on stage, and soon played the recent fan favorite, "No One's Gonna Love You" (see our top songs for 2007) . Their set was finalized by a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover, "Effigy", which we caught on video. The show captured more than originally expected from Band of Horses. Their breakdowns and rock anthem riffs were truly stimulating. If they ever do release a live album, I would highly recommend buying, as many of the songs they played are dulled down by the studio recording aspect for the louder, upbeat songs. A+++
Before BoH took the stage, Cass McCombs and his three companions stroked through a 45-minute set. Formed around the talents of McCombs and his guitar, the almost jittery foursome careened through one cascading song after another.
With a feeling to their sound of southern country rock, the rhythm keyed around a jogging tempo through the repetitious ambling of the two guitars, the bass and the drums. The changing moment for the group's sound came about 20 minutes into their set when the bass began to overshadow the lyrics and the other instruments. At this point, the TLA was rumbling and hypnotically swaying to the thudding of McComb's tempo.
A noticable disjunction appeared throughout the set as sound checks ensued and the group lackadaisically spoke to each other. Towards the end of the set McCombs mentioned something to the degree that they were still working on the one song which they just played. Despite being generally giddy on stage with each other, the group seldom spoke to the crown, not even mentioning their own group name.
Check Out 'Cass McCombs' on iTunes!
With Tyler Ramsey performing first in the lineup, we noticed a certain theme was about to be carried throught he course of the show: Flannel shirts and beards. Tyler was quite stunning to listen to. There is only so much that can be done as a solo performance as far as layers of sounds go, but the twangs and guitar artistry were done quite well. We were suprised to see him performing later with Band of Horses and had originally suspected he was merely helping the band set up their equipment before Bridwell and Monroe carried their equipment on stage. It was just that, his quiet and friendly misdemeanor would make you think he was that nice a guy.
There were easy comparisons to draw against the American rock band, My Morning Jacket's Jim James. Ramsey's subtle long-winded vocals appealed to most in the audience, particularly, with his song , "A Long Dream". His sound was folksy and simmered with a motionless and restful caddy. Although the singing was kept to minimal, Ramsey kept to what he does best, and that's to play the guitar. The eloquence of the playing reminded me of the great Gordon Lightfoot. Ramsey was so focused on this guitar playing, he barely looked up to the crowd, even between songs. His performance was focused and well executed. Tyler was a great added bonus to the lineup and his skills, honed in with Band of Horses made it that much more enjoyable.
Please help support Tyler Ramsey by buying through iTunes. Check out his music on MySpace too!
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