User Rating: / 0
PoorBest 

Monday, 23 August 2010 14:11

Written by Scott Mervis

Coming at the end of a week that included Paul McCartney opening the Consol Energy Center and Ozzfest returning to the Pavilion, Bonnie Prince Billy seemed like a fairly small deal.

The two shows at the Warhol Museum Saturday, however, were anything but. I was there for the 10 p.m. set and was blown away the beauty of it all. (The only other show I can remember enjoying as much this year was the Avett Brothers at the Ches-A-Rena.)

Bonnie Prince Billy -- aka Will Oldham, aka Palace -- is an indie icon from Louisville who inspired many over the past decade to return to simple, quiet folk-based roots music. He's probably best known for Johnny Cash covering his song "I See a Darkness," which closed the show in stunning fashion.

He arrived on tour as part of the six-piece Bonnie Prince Billy & Cairo Gang, concentrating on songs from the new album, "The Wonder Show of the World." It was far from a quiet affair. The best comparison I can make, for the classic-rock fans out there, is David Crosby fronting the Grateful Dead, with a touch of Velvet Underground tension tossed in.

The singer's vocals were exquisite, even when they went for emotion over precision, and guitarist Emmett Kelly was a wonder indeed, painting with color and noise on songs like "Troublesome Houses" and "With Cornstalks or Among Them" (when he broke a string, Oldham launched into a hilariously awkward joke-telling session).

With the acoustics immaculate and the audience seated and for the most part hushed (save the one woman up front who was freaking a little), every sound from the Cairo Gang was meant to be savored.

Comments (1)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

...
written by LarryZ, September 08, 2010 - 12:01 PM

Thanks for the info, I'll check it out. Any comparison to David Crosby is promising. Have been listening to Dave's long-forgotten CPR releasesof the late 90s early 00s. Great stuff.

• 
• +0
• 
•