There are few things better (in my opinion) than seeing Band of Horses in a full (but not packed) open warehouse with the rain drizzling and a slight chill in the air. That just seems like the perfect weather and listening conditions for one of my favorite bands of all time. Not to mention, this incredible show was held on the release day of their newest album, Mirage Rock.
For a band that has and will be playing festivals to tens of thousands of people, including this Saturday’s Global Fest (featuring Foo Fighters and Neil Young), Band of Horses put on just as an energetic performance as any time I’ve seen them, playing in front of 500 or 5,000.
What Band of Horses did though, that I find extremely refreshing, is what I believe most bands should do. Nowadays, it seems that bands play (either) a bunch of old/new songs, and then change the pace by asking the audience if it’s “okay to play a couple old/new ones”; obviously the crowd chants and says it’s okay. Band of Horses, however, played one song from the first album, followers by another song from another album, followed by another song from a different album, and so on. This made the band’s set unpredictable, and for me, even more captivating.
Hearing my favorites, “No One’s Gonna Love You” and “Is There A Ghost” from 2007’s Cease To Begin, was the icing on the cake. No matter how many times I hear this song, I revert back to when I first heard it, my freshmen year of college, and how happy I was then and how quickly I fell in love with those songs and that album. I have never said a negative thing about a Band of Horses show, and I’m glad that this one at the House of Vans is another one I can only speak positively of. The crowd loved them, and they loved the crowd—that was 100% certain.
