[ATTENDED: April 14, 2026] Band of Horses
This is our fifth time seeing Band of Horses. It was almost exactly ten years ago that we first saw them headline and it was in this very venue. It’s funny how much times change because back then I wrote
We love The Fillmore in Philly, it’s a great venue with really good sound (and nice parking).
Ten years later, I really don’t like the Fillmore. I mean, it’s actually still a really good venue for lots of reasons (including the sound) but the parking is now a nightmare and I always feel like when bands play a bigger venue like this, the crowd tends to suck.
However, this show proved to be really great. A 20 year anniversary for them and a ten year anniversary for us. I had wondered why it had been sol long since we’d seen them (yes, we saw them in 2024, but before that it had been almost ten years) and it turns out they didn’t tour much since 2016, so that makes sense (they’ve only had one album since 2016). But anyway, this was a tour for their fabulous debut album. And they played it start to finish.
After the first song (The First Song), Ben acknowledged that his voice is a little shot (and this only the 7th night of the tour with a bunch of downtime). But it wasn’t really shot, there were just a few times when his voice cracked. It was unclear if he was sick or what. But he mostly sounded great, and apologized for the bum notes–fortunately the crowd was supportive of the whole thing. I noted that the last time we saw him, he had also lost his voice–maybe he just can’t handle touring?
Having seen them five times, we had seen most of this album at one time or another. And it is funny to think that the only sons we hadn’t seen live were the less popular ones like Wicked Gil and Monsters. But there’s something special about hearing the album front to back. I loved watching Ben play the lap steel to get that cool sliding effect on The First Song.
Ben notoriously cleaned house back in 2017 (depending on whose version of the story you pay attention to) so none of these musicians were around for the release of this album. When we saw them last time, they played an acoustic set followed by an electric set.
I was fascinated to find out that Our Swords was played entirely on bass guitar! I mean it sounds like it, but it’s true. Both Ben and Matt Gentling played bass. Only Creighton Barrett stayed on stage to play drums for this one. Brett Nash (lead guitar) and the guy in the back who I don’t think was Ryan Monore on keys and guitar and lots of other things, sat out for this song.
Then came the gorgeous The Funeral. My wife and I joked that normally this song is like a show ender, so it was kind of weird to hear it so early. But if course, it sounded great.
They had played Part One in the acoustic set last time with just Ben and Brett. It was full band for this one, although not much heavier.
It’s funny how excited I get to hear songs that I have literally heard every time I see a band. But The Great Salt Lake is so good and it’s always cool to see them play the interesting sounds like the slides at he beginning of the guitar riff. Somehow I hadn’t realized that Weed Party was called Weed Party until the last time we saw them when they ended the acoustic set with this and jammed it out for along time. It was definitely more fun in the loose acoustic jam, but I loved hearing it as a more rocking band too.
The two songs before the end I’d never seen before. In fact, I feel like I didn’t even recognize them–although I must have if I’ve gotten through to the final song. The oddly titled “I Go to the Barn Because I Like The” is a slow acoustic number and “Monsters” is even slower with a banjo
The rest of the band left and Ben sang the gorgeous St. Augustine solo. He grimaced beforehand and said this would be rough, but a deal’s a deal. He definitely scratched a few notes but overall he sounded quite good and as they headed into the fifteen minute break and we all hoped he would have some honey tea to coat his throat.
They seemed to be playing 12 songs in the second set and while the songs are mostly the same, the order has been getting mixed up and it seems like one song gets swapped out and another back in. In this case, we missed Cigarettes, Wedding Bands (a personal fave) but we did get Ode to LRC, which other places didn’t).
We were happy to move our location to get away from the one really tall guy who was in the way. We moved and had a much better view but wound up behind my pet peeve–the woman who holds one arm up randomly. Ugh. But she wasn’t terrible. The guy who moved in front of my wife and then kept slowly stepping backwards was far worse. Is Band of Horses a bro band? Maybe. There were lots of whoops and hollers which seemed odd, especially during the quieter songs, but hey, people are going to do what they want, right?
But first thy started with a terrific version of Is There a Ghost–the song which exploded after the opening quieter moments. That explosion of sound is always a great moment. They followed it was Casual Party, a major favorite in our house. That was the only song the played from that album, which was a bit of a bummer because we really wanted to hear In a Drawer, but maybe we’re the only ones who love that song.
They wound up playing six songs from their second album, Cease to Begin, and there was nothing wrong with that! I could easily see them doing a 20th anniversary tour of Cease since it’s easily as good as the debut. It was really fun to dance along to Islands on the Coast, and then to swoon and soar to the gorgeous No One’s Gonna Love You. And then to chill out once again to the groove of Detlef Schrempf.
I tend to think that BoH put out two great albums in a row, but they actually put out three. Because Infinite Arms is, if not as great as the first two, certainly close. Factory is a great opening track and I was pretty happy to hear it and when they played Laredo it was, as always, magnificent.
They had released a new album in 2022, and it was totally off my radar. I knew of only one song that was played on the radio, the fun and bouncy “Crutch” which I always assume is called Crush. It was another fun and bouncy song. Back to Infinte Arms for Dilly. And if I could have requested one change it would have been for that albums NW Apartment over Dilly, which is a pleasant song but nowhere near as catchy.
The crowd around us was kind of weird–into the show but something felt off. It wasn’t too bad, and the music sounded too good to complain. Especially when they played so many great songs.
They even played a new song–I don’t really think of them as making new music when they are touring an old album, but I’m glad the creativity is still there.
Let’s hope the new music is as good as Ode to LRC and The General Specific, two of my favorite songs and a great way to end the show.
I was really glad we got tickets to this show. It was a lot of fun. I would have probably picked the show the following night in Montclair if we weren’t busy already. I actually know four people who went to that show (which never happens) and two of them said it was the loudest show they’d ever been to. I don’t know if they don’t go to many rock shows or if there was something wrong with the sound system, but that strikes me as very odd and rather unlikely. But then I’m sure they’ve never been to Sunn0))).
| The Fillmore, 2026 | Wellmont Theatre 2024 | The Fillmore, 2016 |
| Everything All the Time | ACOUSTIC SET | Dull Times/The Moon ‰ |
| The First Song ⇔ [3] | St. Augustine ⇔ [2] | The Great Salt Lake ⇔ [3] |
| Wicked Gil ⇔ | Part One ⇔ | Casual Party ‰ |
| Our Swords ⇔ [2] | No One’s Gonna Love You ⊗ [4] | Islands on the Coast ⊗ [2] |
| The Funeral ⇔ [5] | Barrel House ‰ | Solemn Oath ‰ |
| Part One ⇔ [2] | Dilly ∞ | Laredo ∞ [3] |
| The Great Salt Lake ⇔ [5] | Laredo ∞ [4] | St. Augustine ⇔ |
| Weed Party ⇔ [4] | In Need of Repair ♦ | No One’s Gonna Love You ⊗ [3] |
| I Go to the Barn Because I Like The ⇔ | Detlef Schrempf ⊗ | Our Swords ⇔ |
| Monsters ⇔ | Factory ∞ [2] | Throw My Mess ‰ |
| St. Augustine ⇔ [3] | Weed Party ⇔ [3] | Older ∞ |
| SET TWO | ELECTRIC SET | In a Drawer ‰ |
| Is There a Ghost ⊗ [5] | Cigarettes, Wedding Bands ⊗ [3] | The First Song ⇔ [2] |
| Casual Party ‰ [3] | Casual Party ‰ [2] | Hag ‰ |
| Islands on the Coast ⊗ [3] | Warning Signs ♦ | NW Apt. ∞ [2] |
| No One’s Gonna Love You ⊗ [5] | Is There a Ghost ⊗ [4] | The Funeral ⇔ [3] |
| Detlef Schrempf ⊗ [2] | The Great Salt Lake ⇔ [4] | encore |
| Factory ∞ [3] | Hag ‰ [2] | Is There a Ghost ⊗ [3] |
| Crutch ♦ [2] | Crutch ♦ | Weed Party ⇔ [2] |
| Dilly ∞ [2] | Ode to LRC ⊗ [3] | The General Specific ⊗ [2] |
| Laredo ∞ [5] | The Funeral ⇔ [4] | |
| new song | The General Specific ⊗ [3] | |
| Ode to LRC ⊗ [4] | ||
| The General Specific ⊗ [4] |
| opening for Neil Young 2015 | opening for Beck 2014 |
| The First Song ⇔ | For Annabelle ∞ |
| Compliments ∞ | Laredo ∞ |
| Laredo ∞ [2] | Powderfinger [Neil Young cover] |
| The Great Salt Lake ⇔ [2] | Factory ∞ |
| Is There a Ghost ⊗ [2] | Cigarettes, Wedding Bands ⊗ |
| No One’s Gonna Love You ⊗ [2] | Ode to LRC ⊗ |
| Cigarettes, Wedding Bands ⊗ [2] | NW Apt. ∞ |
| Ode to LRC ⊗ [2] | The General Specific ⊗ |
| The Funeral ⇔ [2] | No One’s Gonna Love You ⊗ |
| Weed Party ⇔ | |
| Is There a Ghost ⊗ | |
| Islands on the Coast ⊗ | |
| The Great Salt Lake ⇔ | |
| The Funeral ⇔ |
♦ Things Are Great (2022)
‰ Why Are You OK (2016)
≅ Mirage Rock (2012)
∞ Infinite Arms (2010)
⊗ Cease to Begin (2007)
⇔ Everything All the Time (2006)
t, ironically, I would totally see them again.
I Just Read About That... 