Band of Horses Live on The Late Show with David Letterman

On July 13, Band of Horses got their chance to show America why they're one of the hottest live bands around right now. Hottest as in lukewarm in the grand scale, but they're still packin' the venues. They open their performance of The Funeral powerfully with some vibrant vocals and an atmosphere that is mournful, but poignant. They present themselves as a solid band who can rock the train off the track, but who don't work towards much more. The lyrics are good, but the guitars in this guitar-driven band are less than compelling. It's difficult to innovate this brand of music, even when your sound is affecting. The sound has been built upon, deconstructed, and rearranged, all with improving technology, so at this point, you've got to get a little crazy to impress the jaded. Had The Band of Horses taken more chances, I think this Letterman performance would have exhibited something bigger, something mature and exciting. Instead, we get a great performance from an unremarkable group with an interesting vocalist (who's still as derivative as the rest of them).