Photos by Ty Hyten
The Scene: Sam Beam, better known by the moniker Iron & Wine, returned to Colorado Friday night in support of his latest album Love Letter for Fire; a collection of duets written and performed with singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop. Flannel clad Gen X’ers filled rows of chairs well before the start of the show in anticipation of the intimate evening. The stage was barricaded with a large collection of table lamps of various shapes and styles, creating a house show vibe in the thousand person Boulder Theater.
Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop: Love Letter for Fire is a collection of conversational love songs, co-written by Beam and Hoop. The independently married collaborators have remarkably well matched voices and an ability to write compelling love songs. On stage, their chemistry was notable, but unlike the flirtatious chemistry of The Civil Wars, the sparks between Beam and Hoop felt familial – tight-knit siblings with a shared admiration and sense of humor. Both seemed completely at ease filling long spaces between songs with dry, light hearted banter, crowd interaction, and heckler quelling. “Shut up and play!” yelled the evening’s worst fan at one point. Only taken aback for a moment, Beam smiled and quipped “Will you shut up, so we can play?”
With the exception of the aforementioned loser and a few enthusiastic “I love you”s (met with a “thanks, Mom!” from Beam), the audience was respectful and listened attentively to the music, backstories, and banter. The only real interruptions were planned – Beam asked the audience to “welcome Matt to the stage,” and a man with a towel draped over his arm, made three separate appearances to refill Beam’s glass of red wine throughout the night.
The evening unfolded as an alternating rotation of Love Letter songs, Iron & Wine songs, and “Jesca Hoop stone cold classics,” as Beam described them. Though they chose to release their album without the Iron & Wine name, the show was heavy with its influence. The live presentation was also something entirely new. It could be characterised by Tom Waits-y arrangements behind classic folk harmonies. Much of Beam’s guitar style was separated fingerpicking, pulling outwards on the strings, snapping each note, with the low-E string rattling against the frets. Complimenting this was the outstanding drumming of Rachel Blumberg (The Decemberists, Bright Eyes, She & Him). The drums on the album are played by the legendary Glenn Kotche (Wilco) and Blumberg was able to recreate the uncommon time signatures, abstract noise and nuance live, largely shaping the feel of the songs. Live, the songs were an intersection of The Shepherd’s Dog era Iron & Wine and Tom Wait’s Rain Dogs. This was especially evident on “Midas Tongue.”
The real highlight was the combined vocal effort. Despite numerous complaints about the thin air, both artists displayed a wide vocal range. Beam’s voice seems to have grown stronger over the years and he seemed at ease in his upper register. Rather than alternating verses, most songs were different combinations of the two joining in on the same parts. When Beam used his chest voice, Hoop rounded its corners with airy, floating harmonies.
The highlights of the evening were the songs the two had written together, even to the ears of a long Iron & Wine fan. This included “Bright Lights and Goodbyes” and “Chalk It Up to Chi.” From the Iron & Wine collection, a reimagined, meandering, prettier acoustic version of “Resurrection Fern” was the standout. The best part of the show was an outstanding stretch towards the end of the hour and forty-five minutes comprised of “Valley Clouds,” “Every Songbird Says,” and “Sailor to Siren.” Further challenging their vocal ranges, the show ended with an encore of The Eurythmics’ “Love Is A Stranger,” with both artists laughing at forgotten lyrics.
The collaboration between Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop made for a really good album and an even better live show. Let’s hope this collaboration doesn’t end after this tour.
Energy: A
Musicianship: A
Sound: A
Stage Presence: A
Set/Light Show: B
Overall: A
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