By Micah McLain
Band of Horses celebrated the
arrival of 2010 the same way they did the arrival of the two years previous –
with a sold-out two-night stand in Atlanta. The venue this time around was
downtown's Tabernacle and the band was able to secure the Dynamites featuring
Charles Walker to help them ring in the new year.
The Nashville-based Dynamites
are becoming an increasingly important part of the southeastern music scene as
Walker looks to claim the present day crown of "the hardest working man in
music." While they might seem like a surprising opener for the folk rock
stylings of Band of Horses, the Dynamites welcomed this opportunity to play a
larger venue full of music lovers who would be unlikely to give their band a
chance otherwise. Despite Walker most likely being the oldest man in the
building this evening, his stage presence and impressively youthful vocals
proved to rival the most energetic performer. Although he was not feeling his
best, Walker admirably led his seven-piece band through an up-tempo, hour long
set of horn-fueled, soul-soaked funk that was sure to win over plenty of new
fans.
Band of Horses took the stage just after eleven to an ecstatic
crowd full of joyous and alcohol-filled party goers. The band was right at home
in one of their favorite cities amid moss-draped mic stands in front of a
lighted shack and a huge, image-filled backdrop. Lead singer Ben Bridwell led
his band through a 20-plus song set that nearly covered the entirety of
Everything All the Time and Cease to Begin. The band led off with the
soaring "The Great Salt Lake" and rollicking "Island on the Coast" while images
of the band during past tour stops quickly flashed behind them. After performing
a new track from their recently completed third album Night Rainbows,
Bridwell launched into bittersweet fan anthem "No Ones Gonna Love You" as the
crowd echoed every line. Bridwell showed his affection for the wholly engaged
audience during "Detlef Schrempf" as he climbed down from the stage and into the
first rows before singing the rest of the song amongst the crowd.
After
taking a short break, the band returned along with a stage full of friends and
family for the New Year's countdown as balloons dropped from the ceiling amid
Phil Collins' "I Can Feel it in the Air Tonight" blasting from the venue's
speakers. Once the obligatory NYE hugs and kisses were completed, the band
rounded out their set with such great songs as "Is There a Ghost" and the
rocking "Weed Party." The band had exhausted their entire catalog before the
time came to send the celebratory crowd into the night but they had apparently
saved their best for last as the first keys of the surprising closer "We Are the
World" began to play. Bridwell and the band's keyboardist assumed the roles of
Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder respectively, as the band was again joined by
the Dynamites, friends and family. The entire crowd joined in with everyone on
stage to fill the venue with the semi-cheesy yet somehow uplifting lyrics that
seemed like a perfectly fitting way to welcome in the seemingly unlimited
opportunity of the new year.
