Iron and Wine: A Quietly Rocking Success

Maybe it was the soothing lighting, or perhaps it was the incredibly soft and quiet way in which Samuel Beam captivated the crowd with his perfect pitch and mesmerizing tunes; whatever it was, it worked.  

The Newport Music Hall on High Street, across from the Ohio State University campus, was the quietest anyone had ever heard it during a show at this local venue favorite, as show-goers were re-educated on the art of Listening.  

Oh sure, there were a few people in attendance who didn't seem to get that there was a magical performance happening, and these people talked right through the show, apparently unable to leave the fast paced hubbub of the outside world on the other side of the Newport's black wooden doors.  

Even they couldn't dispel the magic that was being woven by Sam and his band of performers.  The set list included new work from the recently released Woman King album (February, 2004), as well as crowd favorites from previous albums "The Creek Drank The Cradle" and "Our Endless Numbered Days."

The majority of Beam's setlist consisted of quietly performed songs, but there were at least three instances in which Beam and his accompaniment rocked the house with uncharacteristic fervor.  

It was during these brief times that Beam's music took on a whole new kind of intensity; seriously, I've never heard someone rock out so quietly and intensely as did Iron and Wine on this night.  

Beam's assortment of guitars added to the organic feel of the show; at some times during the night, when he was playing a gorgeous hollow-body guitar, I caught a faint and pleasant echo of Chris Isaak, another quietly rocking musical gentleman. 

The live experience of Iron and Wine's "Upward Over The Mountain" was chill-inducing, and the audience could hardly hold back their appreciation as it was being performed.