Band Of Horses' Determined Show In Sydney Last Night Might Not Have Been The Best Call

It was not Ben Bridwell’s night.

There was no evidence early on however when he walked onstage in jovial spirits, joking with the audience. He did admit to being nervous all day about the gig at the Opera House, but anyone would be if it was their first headlining show there to a capacity crowd.

The show got off to an inauspicious start as the band launched into The Great Salt Lake. Bridwell was clearly frustrated from the off, but it initially looked like it was technical issues; his guitar was out of tune maybe as he only played for about a quarter of the track in between tuning up and it looked like his singing was distracted as a result. Fair enough.

He dropped a comment about warming up his voice and then the band launched into Is There A Ghost. Now for someone whose voice isn’t there yet, this is not a track you launch into second song in your set. The expectation of hearing one of the band’s staple songs gave way to apprehension as it dawned that Bridwell wasn’t hitting his notes (the emotive lyrics of "I could sleeeep" were cut short in length and almost spoken as he couldn’t make it). When third track Detlef Schrempf followed, another song requiring delicate vocals, the frustrations became even more evident from Bridwell as he ripped out his in-ear monitors.

It was here that he began to repeat his mantra of "I’ll just keep trying", "I’ll get there eventually", "I won’t give up on y’all" and words to that effect. For some reason it was reminiscent of the blind enthusiasm of Dory ("just keep swimming, just keep swimming"). He did however thank the crowd for singing along. He knew his voice was shot too, describing it as, if memory serves, "a dumpster on fire".

By the fourth song In A Drawer he was asking keyboardist/guitarist Ryan Monroe to also sing along and following up with Throw My Mess Monroe was again front and (slightly right of) centre on vocals alongside Bridwell. The upbeat nature of these songs and NW Apt and Islands On The Coast drew life from the crowd though, as Bridwell seemed slightly more at ease by having both Monroe and Tyler Ramsey feature more prominently on vocals and the louder material hid his vocal flaws.

It was the performance of Factory that pushed Bridwell over the edge though. Having to sit down, he couldn’t adjust his mic stand properly. When performing, a music stand holding the setlist became an annoyance so he knocked it over. Helpful crowd members in the front row propped it back up again, but he again threw it aside imploring the roadie to take it away. He began to channel his anger into his performance. The troublesome mic stand was knocked down after the song; during For Annabelle following, he threw his harmonica down in disgust.

"Fuck the fuckin’ setlist," Bridwell declared at this point, as he mulled with the band what to play next. Eventually they landed on Country Teen, with Tyler Ramsey performing lead vocals.

After the song Bridwell declared, "We’re gonna take a break until we figure out how the fuck to play more music" and the band walked off stage. The crowd murmured, not sure if this was the end of the show, yet they chanted for more.

There was a big cheer when Bridwell and Ramsey re-appeared and the two of them launched into No One’s Gonna Love You. "I’m still not giving up," Bridwell declared, still geeing himself up as he had been all night. He still wasn’t hitting the notes, but implored the crowd to help him sing along. The crowd obliged and in turn, from what had been a trainwreck so far, created a magic moment as punters filled out most of the vocals in the ethereal Opera House hall. It seemed this moved Bridwell to tears, especially as the crowd offered a standing ovation following.

The in-ear monitors again were a victim before they kicked off The Funeral. "I can’t sing for shit anyway," Bridwell declared. Again the crowd was required for help, but Bridwell soldiered on. A more formal declaration of leaving the stage was offered this time: "We’re gonna come back and do one more. There’s gotta be some fucking song we can play."

Bridwell stormed out on stage again, fist pumping, still obviously motivating himself to get through. Still riding the love of the audience ("I love you, thanks for being so sweet to us"), there was a surprise in store – accompanying the band were MK Ultra, aka three members of The Drones. Together they closed the show with a four guitar, two keyboard-led rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Effigy. Bridwell again loosened up, possibly once more at ease being surrounded by even more people on stage.

Tellingly the crowd was on Bridwell’s side throughout the gig, being supportive as he charged through with his lacking vocals. So too was the band, hugging it out and encouraging him early on as it became evident he wasn’t up to scratch. Was it a fool’s errand for him to continue on, despite his admirable, persistent attitude? Probably. Should the band have taken advantage of Monroe and Ramsey more on vocals to cover for Bridwell? Definitely. Depending on when his voice gave out, they maybe even should have cancelled the performance. Yet there seemed to be no evidence emerging from their previous Australian shows that his voice was on the way out.

As is the way with the anonymity and impersonal nature of the internet, today the trolls are emerging on social media saying it was a shit set, it should have been cancelled, they want refunds, etc. But in the vastness of the Concert Hall, none of these comments were ever spoken aloud. It was only ever encouragement and love for Bridwell as it was obvious he was struggling but doing his best to soldier on. My favourite was a typically Aussie "She’ll be right" yelled out at one point.

It definitely wasn’t a good performance with the lead vocalist having sub par vocals, yet the night was… interesting in that respect. It was fascinating to watch it unfold, as it seemed like Bridwell almost went through the five stages of grief during the show, running the gamut of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, all in the course of the hour-and-a-half of the show.

"We’ve never had a show like this in our whole career, ever," Bridwell declared towards the end of the set. And it’s true for the audience too, though it probably won’t be remembered for the right reasons.