Last Friday, I saw the Band of Horses play at the 9:30 Club, in Washington DC, and can say that it was one of the best shows I have seen in a long, long time. If you have the opportunity to see the Band of Horses live, please, for my sake, go.

I just read Patrick Foster’s review of the show in the Washington Post, and he didn’t seem to think BOH’s live performance lived up to their recordings. He said the crowd “probably went home disappointed.” I could not disagree more. Let me know if you think differently, but I personally believe that somebody must have slipped something into Foster’s drink (or that the 1:15 am show was past his bedtime), because their performance, which I assume is similar to all their live performances, was spectacular and those who I spoke with that attended agree. Perhaps, the fact that I was in the front row made a difference, especially because I got to fully appreciate the length of BOH’s front man, Ben Bridwell’s, enormous beard and sweet table steel guitar, but I had a great time and thought their sound was phenomenal.

There is one thing that I can agree on with this ”Patrick Foster” guy, if that’s even his real name—Band of Horses new album release, Cease to Begin, is incredible. Rarely will you find an album that has one great song leading into another equally as good, if not better, song. It is also be difficult to find a band that is able to handle the delicate balance between mellow folk/country and indie rock better than the Band of Horses.

Band of Horses was formed in 2004 by Ben Bridwell and Matt Brookes in Seattle, even though they have now relocated to Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, closer to where Bridwell grew up. Sub Pop became interested in the band after hearing them open shows for Iron & Wine, in Seattle, and the label has now released two albums of the bands, their new album, Cease to Begin, and their debut album, Everything All The Time.

Suggestion: When you buy Cease to Begin, consider purchasing the vinyl version; it is actually a dollar cheaper on Subpop.com than the CD, and the vinyl comes with a coupon code to download the entire album in mp3 format, absolutely free of charge.

Cease To Begin (2007):

Band of Horses – Ode to lrc

Band of Horses – Detlef Schrempf

Everything All The Time(2006):

Band of Horses: The Funeral

Band of Horses: Wicked Gil

Bonus:

Band of Horses: Wicked Gil (live on the interned)

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