There are certain kinds of concerts I enjoy more than others. It’s great to go see a band that’s headlining do their thing and you leave satisfied with what you’ve seen. It’s quite another when both openers and headliner impress. I knew going into Thursday night’s show that I would be entertained, but I had no idea I would be so happy with the show as a whole. I think a good deal of the credit goes to the fact that all three of these bands have been playing together, with Brendan producing the openers albums for his own record label, Readymade Records. In fact, one of my favorite moments of the whole set was when Brendan came out from backstage and just sat next to a speaker and looked on for the majority of Young Hines’ set. All three bands working toward a common goal, trying to give us the best show possible. And they exceeded the bar that I’m sure they set very high for themselves.

Earlier in the day I had interviewed The Howling Brothers at AudioTree Studios. I’d seen some of their YouTube videos, and was curious to see if they’d give off the same kind of fun energy in person. They didn’t disappoint, whipping through a thirty minute set of honky tonk bluegrass that kept my body moving from the first note. In most of the clips I had seen, Ian did almost all the singing, with Ben and Jared supporting with backup vocals. But here they all sang at least one song, with Ian still taking on the majority. A trio of great instrumentalists who can all also sing? That’s a dangerous mix, and I think Mr. Benson was wise to snatch these guys up. My favorite tune by them remains “Illinois River,” but I think the best performance they played was when Jared got on top of the speakers at Lincoln Hall and did some dancing, even hopping up in the air and clicking his heels together. It was quite the agile feat, and one I’ve never seen before.

After they finished up it wasn’t long before Young Hines came out. The time in between acts was just long enough for a guy to start chatting up Kari and I about looking for apartments in the city. He mentioned that his brother owns The Vinyl Countdownrecord shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma and I think I may have weeped a bit with joy over the name of his store. The lights went down and our conversation ended as Young came out solo for the first two songs. Continue reading “Brendan Benson At Lincoln Hall, 6/28/12”