Courtesy of brooklynvegan.com
They approached the stage with casual confidence, briefly acknowledging the crowd and quickly laying a hush over the thunderous applause that had been steadily growing out of it since the opening act, and immediately dove into what would soon become one of the greatest displays of musical creativity I have ever witnessed.
The epitome of class, Sam Beam was dressed in a simple yet sophisticated gray suit and black shirt, his hair blown back to accentuate his full, luscious beard, and his voice as smooth and stirring as ever. Behind him stood his valiant battalion of musicians armed with guitars, horns, keyboards, drums, and even a mandolin. They totaled eleven in all and included numerous talented singers and performers of all shapes and sizes, including one percussionist who eerily resembled Jerry Garcia or Hagrid if he grew a few feet and carried around a dragon egg in his pocket.
Despite the preciseness with which they executed each song — implementing every last nuance of the complex, multi-layered tracks on their latest album and hitting all the intricate notes and beats of their most well-known hits with such harmonious poise I at one point nearly broke out in tears — they still managed to maintain a relaxed, cheerful attitude throughout the entire show. Sam responded with laughter to several of the crowd’s obscure remarks between nearly every song. Most notably, when one member of the audience gathered the courage to request a lock of his beard to take home with him that night, Sam responded with a smile and a polite “No” before then asking in return “Why is everyone so obsessed with my beard?” Sadly, however, I did not have time to reply to him before he began playing his next song, and sadder still, I never got a lock of his beard. It was clear though that everyone present at the Electric Factory that night was having a marvelous time from beginning to end.
As a huge fan of Sam’s earlier work featuring his vocals in hushed tones accompanied by mostly acoustic instrumentation, I was pleased that the set list consisted of many songs off his earlier albums modified to include the full band. Though this drastically altered the style of many of the songs, most noticeably “Boy With a Coin,” overall I think the effect was positive, as though I were experiencing his music for the very first time all over again.
Admittedly, I was unsure what the atmosphere of the concert would be like since, even despite the bold new sound of their latest album, I just couldn’t picture Sam “rocking out” like most other performers I’ve seen at the Electric Factory. By the end of the second song, “God Made the Automobile,” however, I was pleasantly surprised to hear horns wailing, drums crashing, piano banging and the crowd ecstatically cheering their approval. It was truly amazing.
At last, when the show reached its climactic finale with a personal favorite of mine from the new album, “Tree by the River,” and it then came time for the encore, it became very clear that everyone in the room had just one thing left on their minds: we wanted to hear “The Trapeze Swinger.” Even though he hadn’t played this song once on his most recent tour, when he heard the desperate pleas coming from nearly every member of the audience he calmly moved his capo up a step and appeared all too happy to oblige them. absolutely loved it The crowd. It was the perfect end to a great show.
9 ½ Golden Eggs
I’m actually in complete disagreeance with you.
I thought the show was terribly performed and the only one who showed any kind of enthusiasm towards the event was the saxophonist. It was like Sam Beam as Conan O’Brian or someone of that nature, fronting a big band type ensemble.
There was no intimacy.
There was no passion,
but I guess that’s to say for any show at this venue, but legitimately, I don’t think it seems that we were at the same concert. I was sorely disappointed.