Fever Dream: Iron & Wine

By Paul Casey

Photo © kDamo

Olympia Theatre, Dublin, Ireland
March 14, 2011

From the upper tiers of the Olympia Theatre, surrounded by a mass of attractive people —some bearded, some without— I watched Sam Beam and his band perform a set of material spanning the last decade of his career. Although I cannot claim that seeing Iron & Wine live was a particularly revelatory experience, it was an enjoyable one. Beam’s eye on developing his musical palette, particularly from 2007’s Shepherd’s Dog onwards, has led to his earlier work sometimes coming out at unusual angles in a live setting.

His interpretation of “Lion’s Mane,” with an incongruous saxophone honk accompaniment, as well as some of the percussion-heavy jamming on other numbers, felt dangerously close to rearranging a song for the sake of giving the additional musicians on stage something to do. Sometimes it worked, as on the almost Angelo Badalamenti flavored, ominous Jazz beast of “Fever Dream.” More often than not though, it felt like Beam was intent on stretching these songs to their breaking point.

His new work from the fantastic Kiss Each Other Clean and the aforementioned Shepherd’s Dog did not face the same challenge. It was immediately apparent, during the somber groove of “Me and Lazarus” and the wave of joy that was “Walking Far From Home,” that Beam wrote these songs with a wider array of instruments in mind. Some of the songs actually made a reverse journey to a stripped down sound, as with the turning, twisting melancholy of “Carousel.” This left me wanting far more of Beam’s newer material, and far less of his early work, so powerful and assured were these performances. Perhaps that was his intention.

So my moderate apprehension about the manner in which the group present Beam’s pre-2007 material is not borne from a rejection of the widening range of influences and styles being incorporated, but whether it serves his songs. When things work in the live context, Iron & Wine recall Paul Simon’s effortless melding of genres. When they do not, they bring to mind Dylan circa 1978, trying to make “Mr. Tambourine Man” work with a flute. The quality is still ultimately present, but the method of delivery is distracting and unnecessary.

If this is sounding overly negative, I apologize. There was a lot to enjoy here. Beam’s voice is impressively strong, and even when the instrumentation distracted, he still found the heart of the song and brought it to the front. By the end of the concert, Iron & Wine undoubtedly had the Olympia Theatre in their beardy hands.

The closing “Tree By the River” surely convinced many to give Kiss Each Other Clean a more thorough listen. Their sole encore, “Naked As We Came,” received rapturous cheers and left everyone feeling safe, warm, and loved. This is Sam Beam’s greatest gift, and more than enough to take away from a show.

Iron & Wine will play Detroit’s Royal Oak Music Theatre on April 14. For a complete list of tour dates, please visit the band’s website.