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Iron & Wine
The venue: Glasgow The Venue
The date: 2nd November 2004

What seems like the entirety of Edinburgh's music
cognoscenti has squeezed themselves into The
Venue on the eve of the US Election tonight to
catch a rare UK appearance from Iron & Wine. When
they shuffle on stage, the eclectic crowd, which
included the hardcore of the city's skateboarding
community, a lot of scruffy-looking long-hairs
with beards, hundreds of pale, indie superstars
and erm, one of Scotland's premier long-distance
runners, all cheer like goons. Which might seem
surprising seeing as the band consists of a
bearded man in a cardigan, a hippy with a banjo
and a nice-looking lady who reminded me of my
mum.

But, kicking off with the best opening line to a
gig I've ever heard, "Poppa died smiling", they
have the crowd purring from the start. The
surprisingly sensitive voice of singer-songwriter
Sam Beam is the keystone of their
Drake/Smith/Oldham-tinged sound, and he somehow
manages to sound like he's tuning into a
broadcast from another planet.

As the set goes on, there are bigger and bigger
cheers for each number, especially for
Mercury-Rev-in-slide-guitar-mode 'Mr.Soul' and
'Free Until', the sound of The White Stripes
holding their tempers. Shades of Polly Harvey
even manage to sneak in on 'Faded From The
Winter'. As we all bundle out from the cozy
timewarp that Beam and his buddies have managed
to create for a while, even the cold November
night cannot chill the hot glow inside. Warm
simplicity has never sounded so cool.