12 November 2012

Gentlemen Cowboys: Band of Horses at Admiralspalast, November 7, 2012

"Thinking it over by the snack machine/I thought about you in a candy bar"

Band of Horses have nice jackets

Well, it is the day after OBAMA!!!!!!!! wins again, and some smart people living on European time would have gone to bed early and just woken up at 4 am to watch the returns come in, but not...this....chick.  So, in the company of Barbara G. and Chris L., with approximately an hour and half sleep in 48 hours, we headed to Admiralspalast, my first venture into a Berlin venue that comes close to the elegant grandeur of my favorite Victorian ballrooms of San Francisco (Warfield, Great American Music Hall and the Regency Ballroom come to mind) it's a space with a large open floor and not one but two balcony levels.  Once again, acoustics were questionable, I don't know if it was just tonight but the mix sounded really poor and scratchy.
Count the references to Americana
The show openers were Goldheart Assembly, a (fairly standard) indie pop rock band from London (out on Fierce Panda) distinguished by the fact that none of us could understand them. If I said it once, I said it a thousand times: up and coming bands, say your names like 10 times, clearly and slowly. Banners help too. 
Anyway, after no delay, one fifth of BoH appeared on stage, all in skinny jeans, baseball shirt and trucker hats, before a screen image of the evergreen forest canopy, giving way to star-spangled sky.  These are not men, these are guys, good ol' American guys.  I guess I don't know what I miss until I see it.  They began with a slow, yearning ballad, one their many odes to what we love, we lose and we lust for. But I don't know which exact song so sorry.  
Throughout the show, behind the band appeared images from all around the US, I spotted Mono Lake and other places I'm certain were California and other gratuitous nature money shots in the Southwest.( You want to know what makes you homesick? THAT makes you homesick.) It was sort like an American road trip, but sitting down. They covered an Allman Brothers song, and I cannot confirm or deny it was the same one they did in their set in Phoenix but it was rocking.  They also had a few riffs that I swear are the opening to The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" but I was pretty sleep deprived at this point so no promises.
You know, in honor of Thanksgiving, here we give thanks that the Northwest has given us so much.  I want to you to imagine this band is the soundtrack to cresting some high mountain in the Cascade Range and realizing he/she is still gone.  That sort of sweeping, majestic sound mixed with heartbreak. (Before one song, "It's about to get real sad up in here." Oh, believe me, we know.)  Highlights of the evening was when they busted out the lap steel to accompany their reflective ballads. 
The election=addressed. Y'all? Yeah, he said "Thanks y'all for coming out." (Lead singer Ben Bridwell is from South Carolina.)  Gems enjoyed included, but not limited to, "The Great Salt Lake," "Weed Party," and the "Funeral" and a smattering of songs off the new album.  Enjoy these Seattle founded rockers at their set at Amoeba, my favorite record store in San Francisco.


3 comments:

sugarplumzoom said...

It was "No One's Gonna Love You," performed so beautifully that no recording will ever satisfy my ears again. ;)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for introducing me to this band (Band of Horses). Hadn't heard of them. Good to know Sub Pop hasn't faded.

I ran across your page, incidentally, when looking up the spelling for your last name, different than that commonly back in the States.

It seems its been a million years now, but we dated once, nearly half a lifetime ago -- your Santa Clara days. I only carry good memories, but I'm sorry I didn't hug that one time you really needed it. I really regret that.

Thanks for the memories and cheers to a Happy New Year. Warm Regards, Joel

KJ said...

Joel, it is amazing to hear from you. I still remember our bonding over Jane's Addiction. Just saw this comment and it made my day. Please find me on facebook or my gmail, which is my nickname and real name if you still remember! happy new year to you too, best from Berlin -kj