Live review: Bonnie Prince Billy @ the Bluebird Theater | Reverb — Reverb Music — The Denver Post

Live review: Bonnie Prince Billy @ the Bluebird Theater

By | April 7th, 2009 | No Comments »

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Say hello to a changed Will Oldham, aka Bonnie Prince Billy — for better or worse. Photos by Heather Browne.

Mrs. William, where is William?
Where has William go?

William, aka Will Oldham, aka Bonnie Prince Billy, has “go” a different direction. And, for better or worse, veering from his tried and true path of sparse, naked confessionals and toward full-on, big-sounding country-western has given William the largest fan base of his distinguished career.

He deserves it. Everyone should be exposed to one of the most haunting, honest lyricists ears have ever heard. (Case study: “After I Made Love to You.”)

If only the new fans didn’t come along with the new sound.

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Oh, the shit-kickers who came to the sold-out Bluebird Theater on Sunday to yee-haw along with BPB’s happy-go-lucky recent releases, “Lie Down in the Night” and “Beware,” were satiated – to a point. Upbeat country pop like, “I Am Goodbye” and old-school Nashville tunes like “You Can’t Hurt Me” and “Easy Does It” are undeniably appealing.

But some of us far prefer the old Bonnie Prince Billy, the guy who could stop a train with a quiet refrain. Oldham used to labor for months over a single song. Once described as a singer capable of making grown men weep (by me), now he’s one of the most prolific songwriters in the biz.

Oldham gave fans like us a precious few bones Sunday, and boy, did that bring out the worst in a mixed crowd that fractured and actively turned on itself. As some of us sat spellbound for the start of a fleeting but transcendent moment of quiet in the new “You Are Lost,” some doofus in back sarcastically yelled out, “Play some music, Will!” And when he inched into the 1999 classic “I See A Darkness,” another guy kept interjecting “Gay … cough … Gay … cough … Gay,” which resulted in a brief, physical altercation with an offended old-school fan.

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Like it or not, Will: These are your people now.

Make no mistake. The new, five-piece BPB makes for a joyous evening of electric country-western, prettified by the lilting vocals and amazing violin skills of the lovely Cheyenne Mize, joined by Josh Abrams on contrabass, Emmett Kelly on guitar and Jim White on drums. Together they have unleashed a whole new Will: A cockier, goofier Will.

Safe to say those of us who have followed Oldham as he has toured shyly and quietly in support of his seven earlier BPB releases have never seen anything like the Oldham who was energetically bounding around the stage on Sunday like a little yoga Buddha-slash-monkeyman in blue leotard and bare feet. He reminded my much more spiritual compadre of Hanuman – the popular Hindu god that’s part monkey, part God-man – and whose specific job is to help humans out.

On Sunday, Will did his part.

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But moving from folk and more fully into outright country-western has stripped (the human) Oldham of some of his identity. For the first time, BPB sounded a lot like … something else. Was it Jack White and Loretta Lynn? Robert Plant and Allison Kraus? His comic duet with Mize, “There’s a Girl in Me” was downright Moldy Peaches. At times, the band morphed into a psychedelic hippie jam band – and does the world really need another psychedelic hippie jam band?

No, we need the singular sound of Bonnie Prince Billy. Not the guy who turned one of the few songs from his past, “Just to See My Holly Home” into a hootenanny clapalong.

Suffice it to say the old BPB would never have sold out the Bluebird. He is now, and good for him. But, literally and figuratively, that means it’s now harder to get close to him.

This was a night of beautiful and obnoxious conflict. At 38, Oldham has earned the room to grow into whatever he wants to become.

But that’s the thing: Growing pains can be so … painful.

John Moore founded The Denver Post Underground Music Showcase in 2001 and is now the paper’s theater critic. He first interviewed Will Oldham in 2001.

Heather Browne is the Colorado Springs-based editor of the I Am Fuel, You Are Friends music blog and a regular contributor to Reverb.

More photos from Bonnie Prince Billy:

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  • Crawf

    Crikey! – what a wonderful piece of writing. Thanks for that -

    I was dumbfounded when I tried to get a ticket the day before and it was sold out.. I had no idea people knew about this guy. He was like my weird, super cool artist I knew about in high school and Johnny Cash covered but no one else really cared about.

    It’s so sad to hear that “I See a Darkness” was so rudely interrupted… the off-chance that he might actually play that number was basically the reason I wanted to see this show in the first place.

    Maybe in like 30 years, he’ll be playing small, smokey clubs and I can see him the way I’ve always imagined, not the way he is now.

  • Bree Davies

    Oh, John- the plight of the devoted fan is an all too familiar one to me. I would sadly be considered one of those new fans, as BPB’s latest work is all I know. But a new direction is never an excuse for an artist to do a disservice to his own previous work– it all means something to someone, even if he himself can’t see that anymore.

    And as for the rude and obnoxious fans, UGH. Don’t go to a show if you can’t act like a human being. Boo on them.

  • Barbara Green

    There were a few women in the balconey who never stopped talking. When the music was soft, they spoke loudly and when the music was loud, they shouted so that they could hear each other better. I thought BBP attracted a different kind of crowd and that Denver was a different kind of music city. But BBP was gracious and humble and brilliant even if he did rush through some of his quieter masterpieces like Song Without End. I remain devoted , even if his music is happier. There are plenty of dark songs to turn to in his collection whenever I feel too happy.

  • Nathan Gillis

    Like so many others, I didn’t know who BPB was until Johnny Cash brought him to my attention. I may very well be one of the new fans you speak of (although God knows I wasn’t yelling when he didn’t play rowdy songs). Having never seen him live, I guess I expected something a little more somber. As it turned out, I spent most of the show with a grin on my face. That doesn’t mean I didn’t see a darkness. It’s pretty hard to miss.

    I haven’t watched him evolve the way old fans have, but it seems that the one consistent quality in every phase of his career has been that he thrives on following his twisted muse wherever it leads him, especially if that means pushing the buttons of people who feel like they have things figured out. Looks like it’s still working.

  • stuart

    John, should i call the waahmbulance for you buddy?

    BPB is not indie enough for me says the critic! So sad.

    There may have been obnoxious and rude fans, but i bet you cut a fine figure of haughty indie disapproval. I can see your type, lips pursed, face stuck in a gimace that says…”who ARE these heathens listening to MY artist”.

    Get over it.

    I was hoping for a galiafiankis appearance.

  • David

    Too bad about the noise at this show. He did play at several smaller, more intimate venues on this tour, such as the Orchard Spotlight in Santa Rosa, CA, show that I went to that felt like a house concert. A friend saw him at The Modified, an art gallery in Phoenix. If you look at this tour, you’ll see that he is mixing it up with larger venues such as the Fillmore in SF and the Apollo Theater and several smaller venues.

    Indeed he seems to be more popular, but Will Oldham seems to be the same Will Oldham that I have seen played for many years. you just caught him at bad venue with noisey, less considerate crowd.

  • Johnson

    And that is why I go to so few shows these days . . .

    But Mr. Oldham can do whatever he wants – did the writer listen to the often joyful country of Bonnie “Prince” Billy Sings Palace Music five years ago? Whenever I start to complain about an artist’s change, I think of that kid in I’m Not There who says after Dylan goes electric, “He’s not the same as he was before.” Of course he’s not. Sing and dance, Will.

  • Steve

    I felt the same as you did. Although this was my reaction in 1995 for the Viva tour. Oldham was a slapstick ham belting out some rock versions of those quaint songs with the crackling voice. Then in 2005, solo in an art museum, he did what you would have loved, subdued restraint (while contorting his mouth and body and wearing a pink jumpsuit, only missing the word “juicy” printed on his ass). I’ve learned from following Will for some 15 years that he’s having a blast – what point is it to look beyond that.
    He’ll be doing something totally different, and the meathead fans will have moved on too.