The Band of Heathens - Live at Rockpalast
The Band of Heathens - Live at Rockpalast - (DVD + CD)
Here's a very satisfying film for fans of The Band of Heathens and for fans of soulful and heartfelt Americana music in general. Filmed at the Crossroads Festival in Bonn, Germany in November 2009, the show offers a good representation of the group's output to that point. The band has three lead singers: guitarist, keyboards player and harmonica player Ed Juri, guitarist Gordy Quist and guitarist and lap steel player Colin Brooks. Sometimes they trade off verses or sing together but for the most part the songs feature one lead singer or another. Quist leads off the show with "What's This World," a cut about how life isn't always (ever?) ideal and the frustration, mild and major, that that leads to. "Shine a Light" is kind of funky and has a deeply spiritual feeling to it; Brooks handles the lead vocals on this one and also plays a sweet melody on lap steel. For "Nine Steps Down" Brooks switches to electric slide guitar while Juri sings and plays acoustic; on "Somebody" the guys tune into a vibe that fans of Little Feat will dig. Showing their versatility, the men channel the Grateful Dead on "Judas 'Scariot Blues," add an appropriately eerie aura to "Golden Calf" where a man facing a drastic lifestyle change (or perhaps death) pleads "Just give me eight more seconds on the golden calf" and rock out pretty good on "Heart on My Sleeve." A bit of bonus footage, filmed off stage, is an acoustic rendering of band favorite "Jackson's Station." The Band of Heathens here are rounded out by the rhythm section of Seth Whitney on bass and John Chipman on drums.
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