[Bonnie "Prince" Billy with Begushkin at IMC in Urbana, Ill. on 3/13/09]
Click the jump for photos and a review of Begushkin and Bonnie “Prince” Billy at the IMC.
Begushkin:
With their raspy, jam-influenced rock a la Black Mountain, opening act Begushkin seemed to be a better fit for a tiny bar on New York’s LES than a community center housed in an old post office. It was loud — even with earplugs, the noise had me lamenting an ear-ringing headache later in the night — but more noticeable than the music was the band’s inability to recite their own name, uttering it once into the microphone at the set’s end, speaking lethargically, mirroring their frontman’s attitude throughout the entire performance.
Bonnie “Prince” Billy:
Sometimes, a Friday night isn’t a “Friday Night,” with its drinking and gatherings and well thought out nighttime plans and potential romance at the evening’s end. Sometimes, it’s just a soft conclusion to a hard week, a few hours to relax and gently extinguish the flame of five long, tiresome days full of jobs and papers and assignments and reports. With Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s music filling the surprisingly packed walls of the IMC, for some, it was a way to casually spend a mid-semester night, but for me, it was a final task on a list. Tired and worn, I exited early, staying long enough to see BPB’s main man Will Oldham’s blank stares and wild suppression begin to build.
I’d assume that the rest of the show was an escalated version of the preview I witnessed, a massive crowd reaching from stage to concession stand absorbing a mix of gentle vocals, folksy songs and instruments like violin and upright bass to provide a certain down-home feel. And, as luck would have it, my dicey computer recognizes the one video I shot of the band as “incompatible”. With even less coverage to go around than usual, it seems as though you’re forced to exit coverage of the show prematurely, too, proving to be a fitting ending to a week-finishing performance.
Live Vicariously:
Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s MySpace Page
