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Musicians were excellent, sound system was terrible. Farrar and Gibbard played seamlessly, their keyboard player was mindblowing. Too bad not a word of the lyrics could be understood. Speakers for the balcony were out, and only the electric bass made it to the back loud and clear. The rest of the sound was muddy. It should have been a better venue but . . . technology failed us.
Now, I have always been a huge Bright Eyes fan, but last fall I saw Conor Oberst live with his solo band, and I will admit that his new western rock style was somewhat of a flop. Not with Ben Gibbard! Ben and Jay did an amazing job. I went to the show knowing none of their songs from the album "One Fast Move or I'm Gone," but left loving every one. Though he lost all his baby fat, Ben was still a sight to see. I was unfamiliar with Jay, but he blew me out of the water as well. They two make quite the duo. I would definitely go again.
Wonderful good sounding artists but they needed to mix it up a little. Too many mello songs in a row. My party was ready to take a nap! This is coming from a fifty and somethng lady. I noticed when they played a faster upbeat song the audience finally came alive! Just didn't feel any energy whatsoever! Such excellent musicans too! They could improve on stage presence and engage with the audience more!
I wasn't impressed at all with the opening act, I don't remember his name but wish I did so I could avoid him in the future. I think he is in a band called Long Winter, I can only hope he is better with a band. It seemed like a long winter while he was on stage, I was considering going into hibernation. He can play a guitar reasonably well, he's got the 3 chord progression down, but his playing is not inspiring by any means. His songs were aimed at being poetic, but I found them repetitive and boring. The feedback and squelching during his set was offensive to the ear but I enjoyed it more than his music. He seemed more suited to an open mike night somewhere rather than opening for musicians of the caliber of Farrar and Gibbard. The audience was extremely kind and patient with him. I really enjoyed the main show by Farrar, Gibbard and friends. Farrar did an excellent job of adapting Kerouac's words to music. Gibbard has a voice made for story telling, and he melded well with Farrar. The back up band was excellent, putting all they had into the music and having a good time with it. I felt at times that I was privileged to sit in on a jam session. Having covered the bulk of "One Fast Move or I'm Gone", I was curious about what they would do for an encore. They did not disappoint, in fact came back for two. I love smaller venues for events like this, they are intimate and exclusive. The bars were convenient and provided speedy service, but my first beer was warm. The acoustics need improvement here. Not being familiar with the lyrics, I would have appreciated being able to hear them more clearly. The overall sound could have been better, the mixing seemed uneven, the back speakers kept going off and on, not sure if on purpose or faulty equipment.
My brother and I had such a great time. Love the Wonder Ballroom. I was just blown away by the steel guitarist/ keyboarder. Jay and Ben are amazing artists, plain and simple.
They delivered exactely the kind of show you would expect:)
Two v. different voices are a great pairing; wished they harmonized more. Songs are compelling. Band had great presence. Good team-playing considering these guys don't know each other well. Opening act v. fun and entertaining.
Fantastic Show. Short but sweet. A great combination of two very talented artists. They played the entire album - One False Move - Or I'm Gone. Some highlights: Breath Our Iodine - the closing jam emphasized by Mark Spencer's intense and rhythmic organ solo; and Jay Farrar's closing of the first set with his own Voodoo Candle. Ben was in great voice and his inviting personality even rubbed off on the usually intense Farrar... even managing a couple of smiles. I had limited knowledge of Ben Gibbard until this album. Was very impressed and will look into more of his work. Please continue to work together.
With Ben and Jays perfect, fluid voices, they couldn't go wrong. All the musicians involved in the show are immensely talented and it was an absolute pleasure to listen front row and center. Even better? Waiting to meet them all. It was a perfect night.
they really played hard and with great energy and engagement. just an amazing show, with talented backup too on keyboards and electric guitar from a studio musician, it appeared - who quietly made the show what it was.
Last night was going to be another night with indie boys and I wasn’t overly enthused but I did want to see Jay Farrar and I was very interested because they would be performing Farrar’s and Ben Gibbard’s soundtrack for the documentary of One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s “Big Sur”, which is why I decided to make the sacrifice. So violaleeblue and I sat on the Webster Hall bass speaker and two people thanked me for allowing them to join us up there. Apparently it’s become our section and you need my permission to sit there. Opening act was John Roderick of The Long Winters. I’ve seen him before (Revenge of the Bookeaters show in August 2006) but have no memory of it. In re-reading rtb’s review of that show I see that she mentions how funny he is. And he is very funny. And he has a pleasant enough voice and was very personable. He has the indie boy look down pat and like so many of his brethren he has been a guest musician on other indie boy band cds. Those boys (and occasionally girls) like nothing more than to play on each other’s albums. He was totally engaged with the audience. He asked for requests and then rejected most of them because he couldn’t play them without the band. Roderick did one song unplugged standing on the edge of the stage. I think he mostly wanted to quiet the people in the audience who would not shut up but it was a lovely moment – you forget what a great acoustic hall Webster Hall is because everything is now amplified. Jay Farrar (Son Volt) interests me because of his work with Uncle Tupelo. Benjamin Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) I knew very little about – I’d heard of the band and kind of forgot that he just married Zooey Deschanel. Farrar and Gibbard traded off vocals and played acoustic and electric guitars and keyboards. Joining them were Mark Spencer (Son Volt) playing phenomenally on keyboards, pedal steel, electric guitar; Nick Harmer (Death Cab for Cutie) on bass; and Jon Wurster (Superchunk, Bob Mould, The Mountain Goats) on drums. There was little interaction with the audience. Gibbard did speak occasionally but mostly they went right into each song and played the cd. There was a big reaction for Gibbard’s version of his collaboration with Styrofoam’s (Arne Van Petegem) 2004 “Couches in Alleys,” which is an open letter to Kerouac. Farrar performed “Voodoo Candle” from his 2001 solo project. And then it was over. Very quickly. Like over in less than an hour. “San Francisco” from the cd was included in the encore – they didn’t even play every song from the album in their set. Included in the encore was Bob Dylan’s “Absolutely Sweet Marie” with Farrar doing a great job on lead vocal and harmonica. Gibbard did a beautiful version of Tom Waits’ “Old Shoes (and Picture Postcards).” This was the last show of their tour. I enjoyed the music enough to want to check out the album – it was more alt-country than indie – but there was a disconnect with hearing Kerouac’s words with a pedal steel. It should be jazz, no? But eventually I gave in to it because the music captured very well the melancholy and isolation of the lyrics.
since they only performed this show 6 times and i was able to partake i really loved it, because how often will this happen??! loved both of them. and of course jack kerouac's presence made it much more interesting lol.
Great show. Excellent performances by all. Great backing band too.
Great music. Great venue. PBR available for a reasonable price.
