Iron and Wine Tickets

Iron and Wine was great, but the venue sucked. The Madison was unbelievably packed and hot. You couldn't even see the stage.

A fan of many years, it was incredible to see Iron and Wine live (along with the Head and the Heart). The show was much different from the albums, showing a much different side to the musical composition, and why Sam Beam is a great live performer.

Great opening act. Iron and Wine was different than expected but still very enjoyable.

Love Iron & Wine, but was not impressed with the show. Too much electric guitar. Too bad!

A rare moment in life when all the elements align favorably: excellent venue, quality acoustics, great opening act (I'm going to get their album!), and performances from Iron & Wine that blew me away.

this music has become so versatile - rock, jazz, folk, bluegrass, acoustic, electronic - all in the same show! less than half of the songs were from the new album, with some older songs and some that i did not even recognize. awesome nonetheless.

Average show, great musicians, epic band, lame new material. Not stoked, but still a great, great band.

Not the show I paid to see. Sam Beam: "You can hear my songs on the album anytime at home, so we've f-ed with all the songs." Well, those were the songs I wanted to see live. Instead, the whole show was his best stuff morphed into music that was unrecognizable as Iron and Wine. It was probably fun for Sam to jam out, but it wasn't fun to watch.

I wanted to see Sam Beam with his guitar singing the songs I loved. In reality I knew I was going to get the Big Band jazz thing, and that's what I got. What surprised me was how absolutely tediously boring 1.5 hours of musical self indulgence really is, and that he didn't even give us one song of just him with his guitar. Well, he did, for the one-song encore of Flightless Bird, but even that he just sang and barely touched the guitar. From looking around, it seemed like a lot of the audience was as bored and disappointed as I was. You'd think he'd tell from the huge hopeful roar that went up every time he (briefly) picked up his acoustic guitar that people really aren't appreciating this new direction. Or maybe it IS just me after all.

Show was Awesome... minus all the yuppies talking during it.

First, I should say that I have everything that Sam Beam has ever recorded. Second, this is the first time I've ever seen him in concert. There is a vast difference in his live sets and his albums, which, to me was both good and bad. The show proved that Mr Beam is every bit the musician his albums claim. He's so incredibly talented that I was in awe. However, I think that he only played the songs from "Kiss Each Other Clean" the way they sound on the album. Everything else he played I didn't recognize until he started singing. That's a good thing because at least you're getting a different experience when you go to his shows - it's not listening to the album live and at a louder volume. That (to me) can also be a bad thing because I couldn't sing along. I couldn't close my eyes and really let the music carry me away because I didn't really recognize what I knew. I like what I hear on the albums. For instance, they played "Song of the Shepherd's Dog" and it went on for nearly 10 minutes. There was a lot of additional instrumentation, that, while amazing, eventually left me sort of bored. Having said all of that, Mr Beam and his band were totally worth it. Not that it matters, but I found them all to be pleasing visually, dressed very dapper. He himself was in a casual three piece suit, which I thought was rather awesome. I was expecting someone a little bohemian and heavy-set. To see him in a real life as sort of hipster-chic (and very self-deprecating) was pretty cool. I know that most people aren't going to care about that stuff, but since this was my first show of his, I thought I'd tell you exactly what I think. He interacted a little bit with the crowd (making jokes about how stoned we had to have been - which was true. I came home smelling like weed) and thanked us after every song (almost like he was surprised that we enjoyed it). He also played a completely acoustic version of "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" as his encore, which was really good. I feel like I should also mention that I went to see this show even though "Kiss Each Other Clean" isn't really on my list of favorites. I don't have a favorite complete album, but I do really enjoy his older stuff, especially the stuff he recorded with Calexico (16 Maybe Less, Burn that Broken Bed, Prison on Route 41, a version of Dead Man's Will). Outside of the new stuff, he played a few of his older songs, though sadly not the few I was hoping for. That's OK, the man's career spans a decade, so it's not surprising. Bottom line, Sam Beam and his band were outstanding. I would highly recommend him to anyone who enjoys this type of music. I would definitely go see him again, especially if were going to be an acoustic set. Hearing him play the new album live has made me enjoy it a little bit more, and I'm certainly not going to complain about that. His opening act was Seattle's The Head and the Heart and they were also very very very good. I couldn't stop staring at their female violinist/vocalist, Charity Rose. Her voice is a powerhouse in this tiny little package. If you like a folky-bluegrassy-"high lonesome sound" that isn't a country western varietal, check out this band. I can't get their sound out of my head. Another note: On Yelp, there are a lot of people that say you shouldn't see a show at The Warfield because the sound is horrible. I don't know anything about music, outside of liking what I like. I know nothing technically. That said, I thought this was a great venue. I have also seen Cobra Starship, Rock Kills Kid, These Arms Are Snakes, and 30 Seconds to Mars here, and felt the same way. I didn't leave thinking that it sounded really horrible. Then again, I like to be right up on the stage, so I can't really here anything by the time I leave. :) I've noticed no difference here than from the Oakland Arena or any other clubs I've seen shows at.

I love Mr Beam's music, but recently he's been developing a big, loud, chaotic style that reminds me of my friends' bands in high school. I like his melodies, his thoughtful lyrics, his soaring vocals, but I spent a lot of time during the concert wishing he would turn down the volume, or maybe just the distortion. He was definitely playing with the style of his older songs, which was fun.

This was one of those rare shows where the opening act upstages the star. The Head and the Heart were bright, brilliant and lively. Then Sam Beam took the stage with a 10-piece band, and his wonderful compositions got lost in noisy, wandering arrangements. I can understand an artist wanting to mix things up a bit, as Dylan still does every show, but the Iron and Wine big band just didn't cut it. I'll wait to see him again when he's touring solo, or with just 3 or 4 backing musicians. Still love his music, the new album included.

This show was absolutely perfect. Lead singer Samuel Beam was impressive. His voice was angelic. His band was amazing. His band members were so enthused and made the show very entertaining. The set list could not have been better. I go to many shows a year, this was top three for sure.

I'm a big Iron & Wine fan, and to be honest, this show threw me off a bit. Sam was playing with an 11 or 12 piece band, and they seemed to drown out his gorgeous voice and guitar melodies. The setlist was very heavily focused on his new album, and older songs were redone to take on this new sound. Some were great, but I would have also liked to see him play a few alone (or with a few backers) on an acoustic guitar. Maybe next time...

The evolution of Iron & Wine continues at astounding speed. Just a few years ago, Sam Beam was all there was to Iron & Wine, now with a 12 piece band, it is a full fledged rock show. Yeah, Rock. Maybe jazzy, folkie, noire-ish rock, but Rock indeed. Almost all of the songs got some kind of reworking, from jazz inflected organ to full out brass horns. Most surprising was actual Electronic squawks and burbles underneath that somehow turned the quiet folk most were expecting into songs that made you actually want to dance. Sam Beam is still the heart and soul of Iron & Wine though, and when he breaks out the falsetto and let's his voice be the only instrument, that's when you know he really means it. Great show.

Iron and Wine at the Warfield in San Francisco was a great show. But it is not for the old school fan that only likes the acoustic tracks from the first couple of albums. Songs from that era have been re-worked into new versions with electric guitar, bass, drums, horns, even a mandolin here and there. If you are a die-hard fan from the beginning and like the new album, you will dig the show. If the new stuff makes you crave the days of Sam, an acoustic guitar, and his sister singing backup, you may not catch the groove of this fantastic performance. Thank you Sam for changing the direction of your magic carpet and delivering a different flavored buzz. I'm sure I am not alone as a fan that would love to see you take a 180 degree turn and do a tour of some of these newer songs in solo or light accompaniment, you and an acoustic, and memories of the first few magical evenings I was blessed to watch you perform.

The Head and the Heart were AMAZING. Better than the headliner!

Despite the obvious talent of the performers, I really felt like this show was a serious "bait and switch" :( I've always enjoyed I&W for Sam's upbeat and lightly-produced sound. Many of his best songs are awesome with only a few instruments and his rhythmic vocals providing the melody. At this show however there was more than a full backing band, including a three piece brass ensemble. More often than not, the brass overwhelmed the original and more pleasing rhythm of each song. Often times, Sam was placed squarely in the background for extended brass solos that seemed completely opposing to the original nature of each song. This was especially true for the "Shepard's Dog", which felt very interrupted. Sam's voice and musicianship was amazing, but it did seem like the better part of each composition's origins was buried and lost under a heap of over production and additional instruments. While I'm all for a little live-improv, I'm also hoping he'll return to his roots on his next show in SF.

this show exceeded every expectation i had. there are literally no words to describe how it felt being there in the pit and absorbing the music. Iron and Wine speaks to me in a way that no other artist can. i was born in Jacksonville FL and my father grew up in a one stop-light town about 2 hrs south of there. whenever we'd go back to visit my grandmother and other family members, the spanish moss, crab grass, muddy river banks, buzzer bugs and warm afternoon thunderstorms registered something in me that i can only describe as genetic. i feel connected to that part of the world, though i really didnt grow up there (i moved to CA in the 1st grade). but when i listen to Iron and Wine, i am right back there in the dense pine forests and warm autumn evenings of north-central Florida. the music was some of the best live music i've heard in recent memory. the jams were spiritual, the vocals were angelic and i left that room in much better shape than i came.