Live!: Bowerbirds with Des Ark and Death Vessel at the Bowery Ballroom

Roughly two hours after the concert began, Phil Moore, Beth Tacular, and Yan Westerlund aka Bowerbirds take to the stage at the Bowery Ballroom.
Their appearance silences the previous rowdy crowd of excited concertgoers and those who had plied themselves with alcohol to ease the wait. The trio is joined by backup instrumentalists Mark Paulson (their old multi-instrumentalist before Westerlund) and first time tour band mate Rachel Rollins.
After each member takes one of the several instruments strategically scattered around the stage, audience cheers launch the band into their first song “Dark Horse” whose reference to New York rouses an even more excited audience response.
After previous acts Aimee Argote of Des Ark and Death Vessel’s slower, calmer, and more somber sets; the Bowerbirds toe-tapping full band arrangements were a welcome change. Various instruments including homemade marimba, bass drum, violin, and electric guitar compliment the band’s standard accordion, guitar, and drum kit.
The band delivered multi-textured, driving renditions of such favorites as “Northern Lights”, “Teeth”, and “Beneath Your Tree”; not often heard songs such as “La Denigracion” and “Matchstick Maker” (bonus tracks off their 2007 debut Hymns for a Dark Horse); and introducing two new songs the band had premiered only days before (“Brave World” and another unnamed song).
Between songs, members zigzagged across the stage, switching instruments and readying themselves for each song which they played with remarkably practiced precision. Feedback problems during the very first song from the accordion and later from the electric bass’ pickup were the only blemishes on the bands magical transportation from the crowded city venue.
The band offered up light stage banter revealing the winners of a beard contest they held before playing the last few songs of their set. Aside from the cheering that both preceded and followed it, the band’s last song “House of Diamonds” was met with appreciative silence by the crowd followed by unwavering applause that ushered the band’s reemergence for a two song encore (“Hooves” and “My Oldest Memory”).

If you haven’t seen Bowerbirds live in concert, I strongly suggest you do. Their performance was awe-inspiring, uplifting, fun, engaging, and almost terrifying for its ability to make you forget where you were. Whereas I initially had doubts about how the band’s intimate sound would do in a larger venue, their rustic upbeat folk songs erased all thought of the crowded venue and filled the hall to the brim with nature-inspired sound.
The band’s playing was surprisingly precise especially considering how many instruments each member played per concert (with the exception of guitarist/vocalist Phil Moore, the rest of the band averaged about 3 each).
Their support consisted of talented and capable songwriters with emotion-evoking skills and great onstage presences. Aimee Argote’s onstage banter an obvious concert highlights as she explained the reason her songs were so short, described her job as a songwriter and concert opener, and countered a concertgoer’s request for her to take off her pants with a hilarious “How much money do you have?”.
Death Vessel was Argote’s opposite. His songs were soft and often twice as long, requiring patience and focus to really get them. Whereas Argote’s playing included volume-play and was firmly rooted on Earth, Death Vessel’s voice with its soul-rousing tenor soared ever upwards.
Discovering Bowerbirds about a year ago, I had been eagerly anticipating the moment I could see them in concert; studying their songs and lyrics with an almost obsessive fervor. Their uniqueness which drew me to them is the same reason I thoroughly enjoyed their concert. Instead of shambling onstage playing the same arrangements, the addition of the new uncommon instruments assured they would maintain the audience’s attention as well as displaying the band’s versatility. Seeing Bowerbirds live transformed my fanboy obsession into full blown respect and cemented their place as a definite contender as one of my favorite bands.