It’s true the Tripwire is sort of unhealthily in love right now with Langhorne Slim, who is our On The Cover artist, and now we have stalkerrazzi proof of the man in action at his San Francisco show. He rocks a mean pair of suspenders in addition to having such a sweet name…
The Independent was full of kids doing various jigs by the time I arrived, and I got a few elbows in the ribs while trying to snap around. It was easy to see why the running man was in full effect, though. Tracks like “In The Midnight” and standout “Rebel Side Of Heaven” encompass rooted melody surrounded by a great guitar and rhythm line, with Slim’s voice sounding like he’s carrying a smile the whole time: “No, we ain’t going to hell, we’re going to the rebel side of heaven,” he sang with such conviction and airiness, it was hard not to believe him. In tow with backing band the War Eagles, the threesome employed the use of a guitar, stand-up bass, and drum kit alone to belt out alterna-folk-indietastic tunes without being pretentious. “Diamonds and Gold” has the old-time, dusty folk I have come to be so fond of from Slim, a sleeper of a ballad that is both dainty and dirty with encouraging lyrics like “It’s alright to smile, it’s alright to get a little happy along the way.” Slim also delivered some well-humored commentary in between songs; when a chair was pulled out for a quieter track, someone yelled from the audience “Lazy!” to which he responded, “This is not lazy. It’s acoustic.”
The encore found Slim and co. personally pulling up people from the audience onto the stage for a full-on dance party, the front man himself running around kicking up his legs, too. I am only bummed I didn’t find myself in these guys’ presence sooner.
P.S. Dear Ferraby Lionheart: I am very sad I missed your set before Langhorne’s. I was too busy stuffing dinner sushi down my throat. Next time. XOXO
Photos by Jenz
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