The Bowerbirds headlined Saturday, January 16^th, at Lincoln Hall as part of the Tomorrow Never Knows festival. The Bowerbirds are an indie folk band consisting of Phil Moore on guitar and lead vocals, Beth Tacular on accordion, keyboards and vocals, and Dan “Yan” Westerlund on drums, keyboards and vocals. Joining the group for their winter 2010 tour is Will Hackney on mandolin and vocals.

The Bowerbirds began the night with the song Hooves, the opening track from their 2008 release Hymns for a Dark Horse, and fittingly about the birth of Singer Phil Moore and his childlike wonder and respect for both his mother and the forest.  Moore said they would begin the night much as they usually did, because every place they go is sort of like home to them. Anyone familiar with the band knows that this is a major theme of their music - their songs are filled with imagery about the beauty of the earth that belongs to us all, and the tragedy of our own greed and desires which lead us to overuse it and divide it into borders. It might sound like sad, hippie folk music on a basic, descriptive level, but in reality it’s extremely effective and endearing, actually making you think about, and maybe even feel bad for participating in the consumer culture which we live in.

Their two full-length albums, Hymns for a Dark Horse and Upper Air received rave reviews and are melodic and sweet to play early in the morning indoors, but the Bowerbirds are most effective as a live band in an outdoor field, or where that’s lacking or too cold, in a venue with great sound. Lincoln Hall may be able to boast the best sound in Chicago proper, and for an acoustic band with beautiful, fragile melodies like the Bowerbirds, it’s a perfect match.

Beth Tacular’s vocals back up and harmonize with husband Phil Moore’s, and the result is a perfect and clear match. People often say that when you marry someone, after so many years you start to look and act like the same person, and perhaps this is true for musicians’ voices as well. Tacular’s is beautiful and sweet, and it harmonizes wonderfully with Moore’s powerful and moving vocals. Their voices, full of emotion separately, hit an ethereal high when featured together and make up a crucial element to the band’s success.

Another benefit to seeing the band at Lincoln Hall is the clear view of the stage from the ground floor or the three-sided balcony on the second level. Phil Moore’s earnest and naïve smile matches mandolin player Will Hackney’s blissful, tipsy smile and reminds the audience that this band isn’t supporting an agenda – they play what they feel and they believe what they play.

One has to wonder where they find their influences, living in an airstream trailer in the middle of the woods with limited electricity, but then perhaps that’s their very secret and the reason they come across as so pure and untouched, the reason they’re the vessels for the very music they play. In Chimes Moore sings, “These are ancient songs that fill my body”, and in case you’re still in doubt, he goes on to say, “With all my faults, I draw my breath from an ancient earth.” That simple logic can’t be disputed. The Bowerbirds grew straight from the ground, among the oak trees in North Carolina, and they’re rightfully making themselves at home everyone they go.