Band of Horses at The Ogden Theatre: September 4, 2011: Review

(photo credit) Robert Castro

Band of Horses at The Ogden Theatre: September 4, 2011

Robert Castro

An unexpected impromptu tour brought South Carolina’s own Band of Horses to the Mile High City on Sunday night.  Originally slated to open for the Kings of Leon a few days earlier at Red Rocks, Ben Bridwell and company brought their folk-alternative rock sound to a capacity Ogden Theatre crowd.  Opening was Tyler Ramsey who took the stage with nothing but a guitar and wailed away from the opening note.  Interesting side note on Ramsey he actually has been pulling double duty, as he has become a staple with Band of Horses playing guitar with the band.  His sound could easily be categorized as indie-folk, in fact he plays with such an emotional style, that one becomes entranced by his lyrics and guitar mastery that it leaves no room for anything else.

Flanked by nothing but a clear backdrop displaying various visuals, Band of Horses took to the stage with opening number “Ode to LRC” then smoothly transitioning to the guitar driven “Wicked Gil”.  The energy of the crowd was felt from the get go, as soon as the opening chords to “The Funeral” were laid out, it was as if the whole venue began to sing in unison.  With Bridwell’s voice overpowering the radio-friendly ballad, it’s no wonder this has become their staple song, I was actual expecting it later on in the set.  Not that the crowd seemed to mind as they sang the song word by word.  Other notable fan favorites of the night included “The Great Salt Lake”, “Is There A Ghost”.

They managed to extend far and beyond into their catalog of hits from albums Everything All The Time, The Time is Near and Cease To Begin.  Having seen these guys at Red Rocks a few years ago it is without a doubt that they are band that thrives on playing with extreme precision and perfection.  I would dare to argue with anybody about them being one of the tightest sounding bands you will ever get to hear.  And on this given night they seemed to be having fun on stage and not missing a single beat even as going as far as giving the fans a three song encore.