Beer and Pavement

The last time I saw Band of Horses, this happened. Had that happened again last night, I would have wondered if there was witchcraft involved¹. It didn’t happen and I saw BoH at The Blue Note here in lovely Columbia, Missouri.

I’ll make this quick as I still have laundry and packing to do before I leave for Chicago tomorrow. Besides, this was more of a warm-up for the weekend anyway.

I met friends at a favorite watering hole called Sycamore². Avery’s Salvation, a Belgian-style strong golden ale was tapped this week. It was not as impressive as it should have been. The beer was too sweet and sort of smelled like a Belgian, but not really. Avery is a great brewery, but this beer left a lot to be desired.

We hit the Blue Note after our beers for the sold-out show. Had I not already known it was sold-out, I would have figured things out quickly as there was no room to move at all. It also didn’t help that it was a sausage fest of the grandest proportions³. What I mean is that we found ourselves in the middle of a frat party with a bunch of sweaty, beefy dudes all around. Never have I wished there were more hipsters at a show than I did last night⁴. Apparently, this is where Band of Horses has landed: Mainstreamville (AKA Broville).

BoH, meanwhile, played a really solid set. I can’t complain too much about the band’s effort. They were pretty tight and Ben Bridwell’s voice was spot-on. I do think the setlist was a bit front-heavy. BoH blew their wad when they played “Funeral” and “Great Salt Lake” in the first nine songs, but the set did include a decent Gram Parson’s cover (“A Song for You”). The set list is here.

Unfortunately, the sound was low enough that we couldn’t always hear them over the bros “singing” along and pumping their fists⁵.

I decided to counter the bro action with some obnoxiousness of my own. I proceeded to scream for Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Effigy” since BoH played it the last time I saw them. At first, there were lots of laughs when we’d yell “Effigy” or “play some Creedence” or “play that ‘Effigy’ song by CCR only more like Uncle Tupelo played it on 1994’s No Alternative compilation”. Eventually, our shtick grew old. People yelled for us to shut up. I never gave up, though, until they played the last song of the night.

Like I said, it was a warm-up for the weekend⁶. I’ll try to keep you all posted via the iPhone while I’m at Pitchfork. Expect a full rundown of the weekend some time next week⁷.

Notes:
¹I don’t think it’s ever snowed in Missouri in July, but I could be wrong. Is this really worth a footnote?
²It’s not really a watering hole. Sycamore is an actual restaurant with pretty great food. Their beer selection just also happens to be top-notch.
³I do not mean to say that the men at the show were all well-endowed. There was no way of knowing this without getting my ass kicked. I am also not say that this was a night of large German and/or Polish sausages. Had it been, I might have been a little more excited. For the sausage, not the well-endowed men. Not that there’s anything wrong with well-endowed men or liking them. It’s just not for me.
⁴Hipsters not only make an audience infinitely more interesting to watch, they also tend to take up less space than frat bros.
⁵Yes, fist-pumping has a sound. When they do it with enough umph, any bro’s fist-pumping can be deafening. Just ask the bros on Jersey Shore.
⁶Pray that lightning doesn’t interrupt Pavement on Sunday.
⁷I’m thinking Wednesday-ish I might start running through the weekend. We’ll see.