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By James Marallich and the Big Boy |
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The what: Band of Horses are playing Splendour in the Grass. This is their Sydney sideshow.
Beard rock in the house. Word. The crowd specs were predominantly bearded dudes in flannos, which is just as well coz on stage were bearded dudes in flannos.
So tell us about the secret gig Well, they played a secret instore gig at the Nudie jeans store in Paddington. Not sure what else I can say about that.
Best thing about the atmosphere Was the visuals they had going on behind them. A big screen showing a series of photos and videos of snowy mountain landscapes and shit.
So how were their performance? It was okay, frontman Ben Bridwell kept banter to a minimum, which is a good thing I guess. The rest of the dudes did a good job of staying inconspicuous. And they really pull off that 'We're from South Carolina, our favourite albums are Nebraska and Harvest' vibe rather well. But there was something lacking in the performace. Seeing these guys at a festival at sunset would be good but the Enmore appeared too cavernous. Not that they didn't play well, there was just a spark missing.
Track selection: A fair balance of all 3 albums. Newer stuff were greeted quite well, but it's bigger songs like Is There a Ghost, Wicked Gil and No One's Gonna Love You that saw them hit their stride. By that time it was too little too late.
The verdict: The bearded flannos in the crowd were in awe, only coz they couldn't see My Morning Jacket or Bon Iver. Band of Horses played a good set but perhaps a smaller venue would have suited them. A good show, but definitely not a great show. This was one for the sidelines.
Rating: 
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