Iron & Wine at Fillmore Miami Beach, November 18 - Broward:Palm Beach Music - County Grind - Print Version

8/3/2019 Iron & Wine at Fillmore Miami Beach, November 18 - Broward:Palm Beach Music - County Grind - Print Version

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No, not Zach Galifianakis.

Iron & Wine at Fillmore Miami Beach,November 18By Thomas Francispublished: Fri., Nov. 19 2010 @ 9:00AM

Iron & WineFillmore Miami Beach, MiamiThursday, November 18, 2010

Better than: Just iron or just wine or Badly Drawn Boy.

Midway through a raucous (for him) show at the Fillmorelast night, Iron & Wine's Sam Beam mused over how littleSouth Florida had changed in the five years since he waslast here. The water is still "beautiful." The transients stillseem oblivious to the fact that "there are toilets aroundhere that aren't in the bushes."

Rather, it's Beam who has changed. He was working as aprofessor of cinematography at the University of Miamiwhen he developed the mellow, whispering style thatpropelled him to a deal with Sub Pop and a place amongindie rock's poet laureates, as well as a new residence inAustin, and, most recently, a deal with a major label,Warner Bros. With each passing album, Beam's voice hasgrown both in volume and in texture -- he's rescued itfrom the back of his throat. This change was most evident when Beam sang from his debutalbum, The Creek Drank the Cradle, from 2002. "Upward Over the Mountain" is breathedinto the microphone in that studio recording. Beam's new, more forceful tone gives that songan intensity that suits the lyrics nicely.

It came after a gorgeous opener: an a cappella version of "Flightless Bird, American Mouth."Together, those two songs gave the Fillmore, which was only about three-quarters full, an

intimate, coffeehouse vibe. "As much as I like playing Churchill's," said Beam, cracking a wrygrin, "I'm glad I'm here." He compared that venue to theStar Wars cantina -- a joke thatfound empathy among this cosmopolitan-looking crowd.

For a guy who comes off as a daydreaming introvert in his lyrics, Beam has surprising charmwith an audience. On several occasions, an audience member shouted out somethingridiculous or hysterical, leading Beam to deliver a deadpan riposte. "That's some weird shit,man," he said, that massive beard and the slight stoner lilt to his voice having a Tommy

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Chong effect.

At one point, Beam offered to tell the audience a story, leading one member to shouthopefully, "About your facial hair?" Yes, that beard is epic -- the diameter has shrunk, but it'svery thick and still formidable. Of the eight other band members who joined Beam on stageat some point in the evening, only one was clean-shaven, and another was female. The sixbeard-sporting players didn't dare attempt facial hair that could upstage the frontman. Sam

Beam is Iron & Wine. He's the alpha beard.

All that musical accompaniment may be a luxury that comes with his new major-label status,but it seems from his Fillmore performance that Beam is still learning how to integrate thesenew elements without losing the clarity he achieves with his older, guy-and-a-guitar work. Asthe band grew from four to six to eight, the show lost momentum at about the same rate.

"House by the Sea," from The Shepherd's Dog, was cluttered in this way. And the audience'sattention started to wander for the next song, as Beam slowed down to play "The Sea and theRhythm," from a 2002 EP.

Beam and his band jammed for several minutes in the middle of "Wolves (The Shepherd'sDog)," but it still seemed disjointed. After the encore, I was hoping for "Teeth in the Grass"or "Cinder and Smoke," but we got something else instead. But maybe it's unfair to expect anartist like Beam to close with a bang.

Critic's Notebook:

By the way: Several audience members were tittered at Beam's female backup singer andher extremely high speaking voice.

The crowd: Unfortunately, there were only as many beards on the floor as there were on

the stage but a lot of people who classify as amiable.

Personal bias: The good news for fans is that Beam didn't even play some of the best songson his soon-to-be-released albumKiss Each Other Clean. And at least one tune from thatalbum, "Monkeys Uptown," was among the highlights of the show.

Set List:

1. Flightless Bird, American Mouth2. Upward Over the Mountain3. The Trapeze Swinger4. Peace Beneath the City

5. Half Moon6. Naked as We Came7. Woman King8. Morning9. Carousel10. Flightless Bird11. Monkeys Uptown12. House by the Sea



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13. The Sea and the Rhythm14. Pagan Angel and Borrowed Car15. My Lady's House16. Summer in Savannah17. Innocent Bones18. Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog)

Encore

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Showing 2 comments

Everything Tom Francis writes is gold.

Great review Tom!

Ashley 1 year ago

Bearded One 1 year ago


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Iron & Wine at Fillmore Miami Beach, November 18 - Broward:Palm Beach Music - County Grind - Print Version