M. Ward Played The Palace Of Fine Arts - Pictures, Review, Setlist, Video

As M. Ward said a the Palace Of Fine Arts Theater last night, "this place gets real quiet". And it does - so much so that it would have been ideal for a Ward solo show much like the one that he played at Bimbo's a couple of years ago. Which is why we were pretty surprised to see the man take to stage with a full four piece band (five, counting him) for a lengthy set that drew surprisingly little on his new record, and more than delivered the musical goods.

To start, we would contend that it's pretty much impossible not to enjoy Ward in a live setting. The man is such an adept musician, and his compositions so universal, that there's really something for anyone who's a music lover to enjoy. Sure, you might not like his side projects, or the new record might be too mellow for you, but live this all falls by the wayside. The depth of Ward's voice comes out even more pronounced in a live setting, and more than that it's just clear that this guy has soul.

On top of that, Ward and his band are top-notch musicians who have a blast being on stage. Whether on piano, acoustic, or electric guitar, Ward plays with a style that's equally parts technically adept and brazenly carefree. He clearly is psyched to be delivering the tunage, and wants to bring it forth with as much enthusiasm as possible. His band follows suit - at one point last night one of his guitarists almost flat out fell down on stage in a bout of enthusiasm. Good stuff.

As we mentioned, last night's setlist was surprisingly diverse, and drew very little on the new record. Instead, it spanned his entire catalog and had some real gems in there. We're huge fans of "Post War", and "Fuel For Fire" was also fantastic. We were a tad bummed not to hear "Transfiguration of Vincent" or "To Go Home", but it seems it wasn't a "hits" kind of night. What it was, however, was a fantastic night of music. Making it doubly awesome is the fact that Ward will be back in town in May. Those who missed last night's show are in for a treat, and we're guessing that a fair number of last night's attendees will be back for another taste as well.

Setlist
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Hold Time
Chinese Translation
Post War
Epistemology
Poison Cup
Undertaker
Lonesome Me
I'll Be Yr Bird
Fishing Boat Song (?)
Fuel For Fire
Instrumental
Magic Trick
To Save Me
Requiem
Never Met Nobody Like You
Rave On
Fisher Of Men
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Instrumental (See Video)
Roll Over Beethoven (Chuck Berry Cover, see video)
Big Boat

Video: M. Ward - Roll Over Beethoven (Live At POTFA)
Video: M. Ward - Instrumental (Live At POTFA)