Venue: The Moore Theater (Seattle, WA)
Date: December 3, 2007
Opener: Califone
Onstage in the historical Moore Theater (which used to be a lively Vaudeville venue, and still retains that Vaudevillian sheen), Iron and Wine's Sam Beam is "kind of out of it, kinda sick."
I may be eager to chalk up his laid-back presence to whatever flu he's come down with, had I not seen him perform before. Beam is live, like his music, a hush of a man. He's a big, tall, hairy guy whose onstage persona would lead you to believe he's the kind of man who captures spiders to let them out of the house, rather than squash them. If his songs were living things, they, too, would probably free bugs.
A Lot of Instruments
Last time Beam was in town, two years ago, he played to a shoulder-to-shoulder packed bar in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. He was alone onstage with only his beard and his guitar. His pretty, lyrical songs cut easily through the packed room, hushing it to silence early in the night. This time, however, he's brought eight band members along, who, through the course of the evening, play piano, electric bass, upright bass, drums, percussion, vibes, pedal steel, backing vocals, fiddle, tambourine, accordion and electric guitar.The new instrumentation isn't terribly surprising, considering his latest album, The Shepherd's Dog is so chock full of sound, making a rather marked departure from his pre-Calexico-collaboration career. Legend has it that Beam's earlier records were recorded at home while his kids were sleeping, which explains the subtle lullaby nature of the tunes. His voice still hasn't stepped too far above a whisper, but The Shepherd's Dog makes other sonic compensations, instead. All of them translate swimmingly into a live setting.
Iron and Wine's New Sound
It's always fun to watch people experiment. What, at first, seemed like a bit of a contrived, deliberate distancing from his previous musical ventures, becomes, as the evening goes on, a more clear experimentation. This is particularly notable on the stand-out "House By the Sea," where the myriad instruments (admittedly, at one point, maybe a bit much) suddenly cut out, leaving Beam singing a cappella for several bars, before rushing back in like a large, forceful wave. Perfect.The band sticks mostly to material from Dog, playing exquisite versions of "Carousel," "Innocent Bones," and the title track. "Boy With a Coin" deliveres one of the most remarkable performances of the show, with half the band simply clapping behind Beam's scant guitar work. "Resurrection Fern" is clearly the crowd's favorite, as they follow it with a solid few minutes of applause.
The Good and the Bad
At times, the sheer number of instruments doesn't pan out logistically. The vocals start to muddy a bit, the keys are rarely distinguishable from the rest of the din. Then the band suddenly reaches a clearing where everything is audible, making sense.What doesn't always work is bringing the band to Beam's earlier songs. Sometimes songs adapt well to the addition of instrumentation that wasn't there to begin with, but sometimes a song is enough on its own—adding even a triangle part will kill it. "Sodom, South Georgia" works gloriously with the full band, as does "Woman King," whereas "Cinder and Smoke" from Our Endless Numbered Days could have done without half of the instruments.
The Band
With that said, though, it is a remarkable band. Beam's sister Sarah plays fiddle and sings crystal clear back-up. Drummer Chad Taylor (Sea and Cake), bassist Matt Lux, and percussionist Ben Massarella (Califone, Red Red Meat) comprise an exceptionally tight rhythm section. Calexico's Paul Neihaus shines on the pedal steel, while LeRoy Bach (Wilco) works the keys and electric guitar. Some of the best parts of the show are when the band takes to the fore and Beam just walks around, watching them all do their thing.
The Encore
By the time the Beams and Bach return for the encore ("History of Lovers" from In the Reins), the entire evening has washed ashore a deliciously mixed bag. Some fans of Beam's earlier, quieter work may be restless keeping an open mind as the band evolves their musical tastes. But, for this town's crowd, at least, the new direction is a sweet testament to Beam's experimental intuition. Backed by an incredibly tight band, even as he's feeling under the weather, Sam Beam can still deliver an honest, solid set—whispering all the way.Iron and Wine is on tour now. Visit their Web site for more information and tour dates.
