Show Review: Iron & Wine at Union Transfer 5/15/13

I put off writing this entry right away because I was struggling with a few things about it. First, I don't know the titles of the songs on the new album well enough to keep an accurate set list so i had to wait for one to show up online (though i realize i absolutely could have gone on and written an entry minus the setlist) but the second thing kept me from wanting to do even that. The second thing is that i am not sure how to write these anymore. I mean, i understand the logistics of a review, but i only see bands that i like so i rarely have anything negative to say and i am beginning to feel like this flood of show reviews is very uniform. I have a formula that ties it up into a nice, easy package and I am just going with it. I suppose that is fine, but i would really be interested in finding a way to change things up.

I will work on finding a different angle for the next few shows. I think for this one, though, we are going to stick with the norm.

When the announcement of this date was made, i was gung-ho about getting a ticket, but then forgot or got sidetracked or i don't even know what but i never got tickets, and then it sold out. Also, I mostly forgot about the show when carrying on my day to day business, and would only think "crap, i need to figure out tickets to that" when someone would bring it up, which wasn't very often.

Here's the thing, though. I saw Iron & Wine at Bonnaroo. There is no better venue for that band, and while i have seen Sam Beam and company since then, nothing has that 'Roo feel to it, so i think a small part of me didn't want to go, but when it comes down to it, there is a much larger part of me that would have pouted for weeks if i didn't get tickets, so after much whining on twitter and general nonsense, i sucked it up and paid an arm and a leg for a pair of tickets on stubhub.

The opening band kicked some serious ass. They are called The Secret Sisters, and the band is made up of two sisters hailing from Alabama, and they harmonized on CSN&Y levels. I actually spent the whole of their set thinking "this is what i wish Eisley sounded like." I bought their record and got to talk to the girls after the show, and the fact that they were saccharin sweet made me love them even more.

Here is a picture of the girls:



and here is a video, so you can judge for yourself: 

Laura and Lydia earned themselves a new fan last night, for sure. And if my glowing recommendation isn't enough for you, Jack White produced their album. yes, THAT Jack White.

Iron & Wine's set was...weird. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't what i am used to in a concert, either. The crowd stood still and no one seemed to be singing along or anything like that. And I'm not saying that the crowd was bad, either, it was just the vibe in that room last night. it didn't seem to bother Sam, though, because he just kept talking about how awesome we were. (for the record, i was dancing for most of the show, even after getting run over by a student earlier in the day.)

like i said, i don't know the titles well enough to write a set list myself, so i am snagging wxpn's.

Setlist
The Desert Babbler
Carousel
Kingdom of the Animals
Low Light Buddy of Mine
Tree By the River
Belated Promise Ring
Grass Widows
Sixteen, Maybe Less
Free Bird tease (solo)
The Sea and the Rhythm (solo)
Woman King (solo)
Resurrection Fern (solo)
Such Great Heights (Postal Service cover, solo)
Caught in the Briars
Sundown (Back in the Briars)
Jezebel
Grace for Saints and Ramblers
Passing Afternoon
Singers and the Endless Song
Lean Into the Light
Your Fake Name is Good Enough for Me
Baby Center Stage

Encore
Upward Over the Mountain (solo)

the setlist was not bad, by any means, but it was strange. there are a lot of songs that i come to expect to hear at an Iron and Wine concert and none of them were really present Wednesday night. I was pretty darn excited to her Jezebel and Woman King, though, and you can imagine how happy hearing "such great heights" made the audience. 

******
I have left this sitting as a draft for about a week and a half now, and I just don't think I am going to get around to finishing it, especially since I have no idea where I was going with it, so I am going to go ahead and post it as is.

here are some pictures, though.