Justine and I just got back from Iron & Wine at Hope College. I didn’t take any pictures (as is my standard practice), but I remember most of what happened. I will lay out the highlights and an abbreviated set list.
1. It was just Sam with no backing members or any other instruments other than one acoustic guitar.
2. He was humorous and spoke with a noticeable southern accent.
3. The first song he played was ‘Sodom, South Georgia,’ my favorite song.
4. He sang ‘Flightless Bird, American Mouth’ a cappella for the first 2 minutes of the song.
5. The show was 1100 people jammed into a church. I thought it would be weird, but it was actually quite cozy and the sound was excellent.
6. ‘Boy With a Coin’ became a rambling, Oooohhhhh-filled 8 minute masterpiece with the crowd clapping and singing along.
7. He messed up his fingering at one point during a song and said ‘Hold on,’ stopped, and then started playing right before where he slipped instead of just pretending it didn’t happen. Everyone laughed, but it was pretty cool.
8. After playing his last song, he went off stage until the Hope regulars started banging on the pews until it was almost deafening. He came back onstage and played the full version of ‘The Trapeze Swinger.’ It was the first and only time he said ‘fuck’ during the entire show.
Partial Set List:
Sodom, South Georgia
Woman King
The Sea & The Rhythm
Sunset Soon Forgotten
Resurrection Fern
He Lays In The Reins
Prison On Route 41
Naked as We Came
Upward Over the Mountain
The Trapeze Swinger
Flightless Bird, American Mouth
Love Vigilantes (New Order cover)
Overall, show was amazing. Life changing perhaps. Farewell!
January 29, 2010 at 3:19 pm
I wish I could have been there.
I should have been there.
My former suite mate and his girl friend, who I told about the show and live two doors down from, decided to deny me a ride to Holland.
They are both dead to me.
I’m glad you enjoyed it though!
January 29, 2010 at 7:25 pm
Thanks for the rough setlist. I bought Creek Drank the Cradle when it first came out and loved it. But I didn’t really pay much attention to Iron & Wine until I saw he’d be at Hope. Last night was great, and now I know what songs to look for on his other albums.
January 29, 2010 at 11:55 pm
Fabulous show! I was also hesitant about it being in a church, but it produced an amazing atmosphere. The volume of the encore call inside an old chapel was intense.
This isn’t the best quality video (bad seats), but here’s a clip of the show that I found: http://www.flickr.com/photos/59662936@N00/4313386222/
I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Clay happier than when Sam started off with his favorite song. Totally worth supporting those conservative pricks at Hope College.
January 30, 2010 at 1:47 am
Justine, thank you for finding video! You are right about my happiness. My scalp was tingling so bad it almost hurt and I had goosebumps in my face.
Lucas, sorry you couldn’t make it. Next time he’s in MI, I will hopefully be going again, so I will let you and your brother know.
Andy, not sure who you are but thanks for commenting! I recommend getting his live album called ‘Norfolk.’ It has a great mixture of new and old stuff and it’s great to hear how his old songs change over time with the addition of performers who he brings along.
January 31, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Saw your blog linked from the Last.fm page. A couple more videos from the concert:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miuiPTZoxqs
February 4, 2010 at 1:52 am
Sounds sweet. I’ve been listening to Iron and Wine to much this week..
Dad took me to see that guy who makes guitars in like brethren. overall, it was sweet. But some funny things that happened where:
1) He had like 20 home made guitars, and he would hand me one, he would tell a story, while i played the guitar, i would hand the guitar back to him. this happened, 20 times.
2) every story about a guitar had one, if not both, of these phrases, “tough as a brick” and “thick as a prick” (i don’t know what “thick as a prick” means.)
3) he referred to me simply as “young son”
4) His house is heated by an external stove, that is connected directly to the building’s window via an aluminum pipe.