Iron and Wine at the Phoenix; Thursday November 13, 2008
Before this show i contemplated all the possible set openers. With much research i came the conclusion that it would either be something off of 'Shepherd's Dog,' 'Endless Numbered Days' or the tune “The Trapeze Swinger.” After reading a ton of reviews it seems he often ends with the “Trapeze Swinger” or begins with it. Iron and Wine (aka: Samuel Beams) kicked off his set with a bare version of “He Lay in the Reigns.” The tune was originally put out with an album he did a while back with Calexico called 'In the Reigns.' For the longest time i thought it was the prettiest thing, particularly this song. It was really refreshing to hear it stripped, as it was first written. His sister Sarah was there, she sung back up vocals and the violin. If you listen carefully most of his songs have a female voice to accompany on the recorded material. It was really nice to hear it shine through so delicately. For the chorus of “He Lay in the Reigns,” they simply hummed, leaving out the operatic chorus. The second song that was played was “Resurrection Fern,” a beautiful tune off of his latest release. He followed with “Upward Over the Mountain,” which i was incredibly surprised to hear because he never plays this one stripped. This song is off of his first full-length album 'Creek Drank the Cradle.' It's a stripped down album that was recorded in Sam's basement and released on Sub Pop, each song on that album bearing a warm record player-like sound. In all live videos of this song i've seen he played it with a band and it was incredibly fast, losing a lot of its charm. The bridge goes:“Mother remember the night that the dog had her pups in the pantryblood on the floor, fleas in their paws and you cried til' the morningso may the sun rise bring where hope where it was once forgottensuns are like birds flying always over the mountain.” These lyrics are lost in the upbeat version. In the slow version there's a deliberate hesitation that gives these pretty words the well-deserved attention they deserve. I was really hoping for “Each Coming Night” or “Passing Afternoon,” but he didn't play them. He did however play a song i really like from 'Shepherd's Dog' called “Flightless Bird, American Mouth.” This was to my surprise because he already played the other slow 'Shepherd's Dog' song well at the beginning of the set. “Flightless Bird” is going to be Beam's ticket to even bigger things because that tune is used in the upcoming movie Twilight. Off the top of my head this is his fourth soundtrack he's appeared on, however i'm sure there is more. Three songs in a piano player came out and played a bit with Sam and Sarah. Two songs following the entire band came out, which consisted of three percussionists, one alternating on guitar, a pianist and a bassist. This large band was to duplicate the sound he had so impressively perfected in the 'Shepherd's Dog.' In turn he livened up music from his older, but simpler albums. In renewing them it often fooled me because i could hardly recognize them. I have a lot sympathy for the artist because they have to play the same songs over and over again and they probably grow tired of hearing the same ones. He played most of 'Shepherd's Dog' like this. Most memorably off that album he played the actual tune “Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog)” with an instrumental interlude that was gradually built up upon. It started off with a very simply violin pattern and each player trickled in with a different contribution, it was absolutely flawless, a little long winded but it sounded perfect. They often blended the songs together, the audience couldn't really get a clap in but it was much faster, more crisp that way. The crowd kept clapping after hearing the first chord Sam would play. Each time he would chuckle because he had barely reached the second chord. Someone in the crowd yelled “Free Bird!!” as the chords progression was very similar to that. Sam lets off a grin and launches in to the first bit of “Freebird,” it was beautiful, it fooled most people as they were simply in awe. You wouldn't have an idea whether it was his own song or one of Lynryd Skynyrd. He played only a bit off of 'Our Endless Numbered Days' which is arguably his biggest album. He played “Sodom South Georgia” and “Cinder and Smoke”. “Cinder and Smoke” was dominated by the vibes, which gave it a completely different sound. The set was ended with “Boy with a Coin.” It was almost unrecognizable except for the beautiful drum beat in the song. He tagged it to another song, which made it difficult to initially distinguish. I love the music video it's very beautiful, the dancing matches the beat perfectly. Both Sarah and Sam came out for one last song—“The Trapeze Swinger.” Which some guy had frantically requested for while holding up a sign with that request. Sam said “Just because he has a sing we'll play it.” The guy had held up the sign earlier and once i saw that i knew he would play it, i felt completely safe. It was my favourite part of the show! The song is an eight minute remembrance of old love and friendship, it's reminiscent but not dragging. This song has no chorus, no bridge, it's something new the entire song. It showcases some of his nicest writing, without feeling repetitive. He played it alone for the first five minutes and Sarah eventually jumped in. I'm extremely happy he didn't play this song first because i would have lost my cool.The intro was perfect because the first five or six songs he played alone, the way most of his albums sound. He then went on to what his new sound has evolved into and then he returned to what he began with, by singing “The Trapeze Swinger.”This was a really beautiful show, i would have much preferred to have seen him at Danforth because this music is more appropriate for a sit, setting. My feet hurt a bunch at the end.I really enjoyed Blitzen Trapper's set. They have a great sound live and their songs have a different sound to each. Their best song called “Fur” they played in the middle of their set to my surprise.
I can't wait until he comes back.
November 14, 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment