Band of Horses
House of Blues
Boston, MA
December 9

A loose and relaxed Ben Bridwell opened Band of Horses’ sold-out concert at the House of Blues in Boston by strolling onto the stage with guitarist Tyler Ramsey and announcing that everyone else in the band had quit, so it was just going to be the two of them for the night. Midway through the first song, though, they gave up the joke and the rest of the band came out from the wings and then proceeded to kick the show into high gear with a blast of “Factory,” “Compliments,” and the quirky “Dumpster World.” The last of these is off BoH’s most recent album, Mirage Rock, released earlier this year.

The band featured several more numbers off of Mirage Rock during a 19-song set, including “A Little Biblical” and “Electric Music,” which would feel right at home slipped between a few tracks of Exile on Main Street, as well as a rockin’ version of “Knock Knock” late in the show. The rest of the set list leaned heavily on 2010’s Infinite Arms and its predecessor, Cease to Begin, with just a few fan favorites off of the band’s debut album, most notably “The Great Salt Lake” and a majestic, set-closing version of “The Funeral.”

Other highlights of the show included Ramsey taking a turn on lap steel for “Window Blues,” Ryan Monroe’s guitar and Bill Reynolds’ bass propelling a thundering version of “Cigarettes, Wedding Bands,” drummer Creighton Barrett letting loose on “NW Apt.,” and Bridwell’s plaintive singing on “Older” – “after all my plans, they melt into the sand.”

Band of Horses’ stage set for this tour features a floor-to-ceiling backdrop on which is projected an ever-changing panorama of wilderness scenes – most, it would appear, from the American West – serving as great visual complement to the music.

With curfew beckoning, the band had time for just a single encore, but made it count with an extended version of “Infinite Arms,” as the backdrop behind the stage dissolved in a night sky of stars and moon.