Photos by Ty Hyten
The Scene: Saturday morning brought a last minute scramble for tickets to see Indiana’s Houndmouth ahead of their show at the Bluebird Theater. By the time evening rolled around the show had sold-out, crowds had filled local bars like The Atomic Cowboy and spirits were high. The largely 21+ audience filed into the packed venue – a step up for the Americana/Folk-Pop four-piece, who played at the tiny Larimer Lounge this time last year.
Opener: Twin Limb. Louisville, Kentucky’s Twin Limb was a pleasant surprise. I was only able to find one track ahead of the show (be it a good one), so I didn’t fully know what to expect. The band was dark, dreamy, noisy, indie-rock with the unlikely inclusion of an accordion. Singers Lacey Guthrie and Maryliz Bender sat facing one another and their melodic yet melancholic voices floated before the reverb-heavy instrumentation and distorted, delayed atmospheric guitar noise. The accordion filled and resonated like an organ while two longing voices tapped into a soft spot I have for sad female singer-songwriters like Sharon Van Etten. It was an unlikely pairing with Houndmouth but I, and many around me stood, enchanted for the whole set. I was legitimately impressed. So much so that my only interaction with Houndmouth frontman Matt Meyers, despite my appreciation for his own music, was spent paying him a compliment for choosing an outstanding opener in Twin Limb. I was so smitten that I bought the only form of music they had for sale, a cassette single that will probably end up getting as much play as the old deck in my car will permit.
Houndmouth: It’s easy to lump Houndmouth in with the folk-pop revival fueled by footstompers like Mumford and Sons and The Lumineers, but when it comes down to it, their live performances, incredible four-part harmonies and soaring bluesy guitar solos can silence any disdain you may have for romanticized roadways and cliched old west Americana imagery.
It wasn’t my first time seeing the band, and for good reason. As an opener, they shut down even the loudest of drunks and as a headliner they turn the venue, be it Larimer Lounge or Outside Lands, into a sweaty good time and Saturday night was no exception.
Houndmouth’s set was primarily rooted in 2013’s From the Hills Below the City but there were a very welcome handful of tunes from their upcoming second album, out on March 17th. Those tracks included “Otis” which drew as much on The Band for inspiration as older crowd-pleasers like “Hey Rose,” “Penitentiary” and “Comin’ Round Again” which also made appearances on Saturday.
There were few songs that didn’t elicit a loud sing-a-long, breaking only for cheers for Myer’s bluesy guitar solos and Katie Toupin’s gorgeous vocals. Myer’s guitar playing was standout though I would have preferred even more fretboard abandon. Toupin’s vocals were a sweet icing on an often rowdy sonic cake and were key in creating the four-turned-four-hundred part harmonies that made the concert such a good time.
The Bluebird was more alive on Saturday than I had seen in awhile. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t have a good time, at least from my vantage point up front. As the clock wound down, the crowd energy swelled to a new high on another new song and on that high the band left the stage for the obligatory encore.
The encore began with eerie silence. Matt played “For No One,” a dark, sparse, Bob Dylan inspired ballad. The moment of pause was loaded and powerful but the unfamiliar quiet quickly gave way to their most popular and infectious song, “On the Road.” This peak was followed by another valley on “Houston Train” which started slow and culminated in a guitar whirlwind. The members of Twin Limb joined to close the evening on a safe and satisfying high note with a cover Dion’s doo-wop classic “Runaround Sue.” The crowd sang the song in unison and members of both bands joined arms, bowed and sent us on our way.
Energy: A
Musicianship: A
Sound: A
Stage Presence: A
Set/Light Show: C
Overall: A
[…] Opener: Houndmouth. Houndmouth has been on of my favorite live acts for the last couple of years. Their high energy, bluesy guitar solos, and three-part harmonies make for a feel good show and bits of their sound remind me of The Band. Unfortunately, as an opener at a mega venue in broad daylight in front of unfamiliar ears, they really failed to hit their full stride on Thursday night. Their set was heavy on songs from Little Neon Limelight, which came out in March. A good amount of the audience seemed to take notice as they played, but it wasn’t one of their strongest showings in recent memory. They ended their set with a cover of Dion’s “Runaround Sue” that was unfortunately flat compared to when they finished with it at The Bluebird back in February. […]