Band of Horses - The Gargoyle - 1/31

Whew. I just got back from seeing Band of Horses at the Gargoyle. I nearly drowned in reverb after their hour and twenty minute set. Ben Bridwell's vocals were spot on, as expected, but what really surprised me was the quality of the harmonies he did with keyboardist Ryan Monroe. At the beginning of the show, the thought crossed my mind that it would be awesome if Bridwell had a female along the likes of Emmylou singing backup, and oddly enough, Monroe's falsetto did the trick quite well.

Highlights of the show included BOH's breakout hit, "The Funeral," with which they closed the main set, "The Great Salt Lake," and "Cigarettes, Wedding Bands." What really blew my mind was their cover of Credence Clearwater Revival's "Effigy," a track hidden behind hits such as "Fortunate Son" and "Down on the Corner" on 1969's Willy and the Poor Boys. I had originally come to know this track not through the CCR version but through Uncle Tupelo, who played it fairly often live and finally released a studio version on their 2002 greatest hits album, 89/93: An Anthology. I had hoped that BOH was playing this especially for us in tribute to such a great St. Louis band, but alas, it seems to have popped up at a few other dates on their tour. Fortunately for you, someone posted a video of BOH doing "Effigy" on youtube. Enjoy!