Photos: Band of Horses and Frightened Rabbit at the Greek Theatre

on
0
Band of Horses at the Greek Theatre (Photo by Samantha Saturday)
Band of Horses at the Greek Theatre (Photo by Samantha Saturday)

If recent band drama has worn on Band of Horses’ frontman Ben Bridwell, you’d never know it from Thursday’s show at the Greek Theatre. Bridwell led the folk-rockers through an exuberant, even vein-popping, show with a mix of songs from the band’s 13-year career.

The concert, the second on a tour that will now see Band of Horses segue to festival and European dates, came less than a month after the departures of guitarist Tyler Ramsey and bassist Bill Reynolds, both whom had been with BOH since 2007. Joining Bridwell, Ryan Monroe, and Creighton Barrett were bassist Matt Gentling (of Archers of Loaf, who had played in the band before Reynolds) and guitarist Richie Kirkpatrick (of Langhorne Slim and The Law), stealing the show in a ’70s-era cowboy suit, complete with his name embroidered across the back.

Smiling virtually the whole set, Bridwell led the band through a typically unpredictable set (they are known for switching things up a lot between shows), including the newly revived “Our Swords,” with both Bridwell and Gentling on bass, a song the band hadn’t played much since 2013. Notable was a new, twangy take on 2006’s “St. Augustine.”

Scottish rockers Frightened Rabbit, playing L.A. for the first time in a year, opened the night with a crisp, 11-song set of their cathartic anthems. Frontman Scott Hutchison, too, was in high spirits. Midway through set he quipped “If you’ve just shown up, you’ve missed quite a lot, too much to catch up. First song was about heartbreak, second one was also heartbreak, the third one … too much, like I said.”

Band of Horses setlist: Monsters, The First Song, NW Apt., No One’s Gonna Love You, Islands on the Coast, Casual Party, Marry Song, Older, Throw My Mess, Laredo, St. Augustine, Factory, Barrel House, In a Drawer, The Great Salt Lake, Weed Party, Is There a Ghost, Wicked Gil, The Funeral. Encore: Our Swords, The General Specific

Frightened Rabbit setlist: Get Out, Holy, The Modern Leper, I Wish I Was Sober, Living in Colour, Little Drum, Heads Roll Off, Woke Up Hurting, The Oil Slick, The Woodpile, Lump Street

Photos by Samantha Saturday