Sam Beam’s folk project has always been musically and lyrically transcendent, small in sound, yet giant in understated passion. Now on tour supporting the band’s first studio release in three years, it is evident that long gone are the days of whispered solitude and intimate beauty. That tone’s been replaced by a large, funky, big band sound complete with horns, piles of percussion toys alongside the trapset, backing singers and a strong electronic presence. But the change has been good.
The result laid out in front of a sold-out on Saturday night evoked a clear Motown feel, interlaced with keen ‘70s jam, gospel and jazz – inside a resounding pop swirl.
Proving that his distaste for convention still continues unabated with this year’s record, “Kiss Each Other Clean,” Beam led the band early through “Walking Far From Home” rich with gospel that made the theater feel like church. This version of Iron & Wine only hinted at the intimacy of earlier records where Beam played alone, acoustic, singing just above a whispered near-silence. The beautifully arranged backing vocals and church-organ keys melded with slow, deliberate and deep horns that complimented vivid lyrics with a depth usually reserved for prayer.
The funk of Iron & Wine’s new feel — arguably started with 2007’s “The Shepherd’s Dog” — was in full bloom with “Rabbit Will Run” about mid-set. The recorded version of the song is already a seething and dark, oily pop opus, but the live version was made incendiary. Added measures boiled into thick, Hendrix jams while the surreal, gritty story faded in and out. The three-person horn section brought a solid ‘60s R&B feel to the song, matched by the two humming and cooing background singers across the stage, while the lyrics led the sold-out house on yet another beat-poet scrambled journey.
“You know how we like to fuck with stuff,” Beam muttered later, after they performed an older tune, completely reworked into the new style and almost unrecognizable. It was still beautiful, just made grand with the added personnel and new arrangement.
Most every song that night was reworked that way — and most of them became new songs, as beautiful as the originals, just seen again with transplanted eyes. One that did dip back into the quiet was “Jesus the Mexican Boy.” Though the rest of his 9-piece band was worked into the mix, this one still sounded small, closeted.
Beam led the band back on stage for a single song encore with “My Lady’s House,” a perfect example of an already brilliant song made into even more. Their version that night was miles from the sweet, pastoral backyard love song we all know. It was transformed into a passionate, shouted spiritual, filled with desperation and ecstasy.
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Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver’s vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy’s explorations at , and his giglist at .
Nathan Iverson is a Denver photographer and regular contributor to Reverb.
