The dark history of Marcy's vs Becky's was revealed last night at the Lone Bellow show here in Portland, as the namesakes of favorite local diners fought over a fisherman out in the middle of the ocean, with a giant squid, only to have Eventide Oyster Bar roll in on a wave of gentrification. At least that's how it went down in Zach's brain. After sharing with the audience that he “sank the Titanic” – what he referred to as a 9 pound omelet- at Becky’s, an audience member made the suggestion that he try Marcy’s. To this, he quickly rolled out a story of what must have surely been their rivalry, in that way that only Zach can.
In short, if one of the reasons you enjoy seeing The Lone Bellow in concert is to get a glimpse into the inner workings of Zach’s on-the-fly story telling skills, then last night would not have disappointed. Aside from one excellent set list (we’ll get to it!) we were privy to so many silly exchanges, convincing us yet again that this band absolutely loves what they do.
There was a lot of focus on attire, as Zach made sure to let the audience know how impressed he was with Jason’s elbow pads. He also reminisced on the 80’s love of shoulder pads, trying to convince Kanene that she needs them. Bryan, looking dapper in a tie, was not left out of the exchange, as Zach shared that he thought his tie pattern looked like bacteria. Later, when Zach made some, uh, interesting jokes about his relationship with their road manager Brian quipped, “It’s 50 shades of denim,” which got a hearty round of laughter from the audience.
As great as these moments are, we know it really is all about the music. Perhaps we were unfair yesterday in saying that we would “review” the show, for that implies impartiality, which we are no longer capable of. With each passing show, we become more steadfast in our belief that The Lone Bellow is incapable of putting on anything less than a stellar performance. We realized last night that part of the joy for us now is observing how the audience responds to them. We met a few people who had never seen them live before and something makes us so happy about knowing what they are about to discover, and we feel certain that their first show will not be their last. As for now, we are relishing the fact that we can still see them perform in smaller venues, because it feels like these days are numbered. We may weep when they start selling out stadium sized venues, but we cannot deny that they will have sincerely earned it.
In short, if one of the reasons you enjoy seeing The Lone Bellow in concert is to get a glimpse into the inner workings of Zach’s on-the-fly story telling skills, then last night would not have disappointed. Aside from one excellent set list (we’ll get to it!) we were privy to so many silly exchanges, convincing us yet again that this band absolutely loves what they do.
There was a lot of focus on attire, as Zach made sure to let the audience know how impressed he was with Jason’s elbow pads. He also reminisced on the 80’s love of shoulder pads, trying to convince Kanene that she needs them. Bryan, looking dapper in a tie, was not left out of the exchange, as Zach shared that he thought his tie pattern looked like bacteria. Later, when Zach made some, uh, interesting jokes about his relationship with their road manager Brian quipped, “It’s 50 shades of denim,” which got a hearty round of laughter from the audience.
As great as these moments are, we know it really is all about the music. Perhaps we were unfair yesterday in saying that we would “review” the show, for that implies impartiality, which we are no longer capable of. With each passing show, we become more steadfast in our belief that The Lone Bellow is incapable of putting on anything less than a stellar performance. We realized last night that part of the joy for us now is observing how the audience responds to them. We met a few people who had never seen them live before and something makes us so happy about knowing what they are about to discover, and we feel certain that their first show will not be their last. As for now, we are relishing the fact that we can still see them perform in smaller venues, because it feels like these days are numbered. We may weep when they start selling out stadium sized venues, but we cannot deny that they will have sincerely earned it.
*The last song of the main was actually "Take My Love."
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