Where: Iron Horse Music Hall – Northampton, MA
When: July 28
Rising up from Portland, Oregon’s house show scene, Typhoon took their first trip to the East Coast to play at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, MA late July. They also made an appearance at this year’s Newport Folk Festival in Newport, RI. This 13-piece act tightly, yet flawlessly, fit on the small stage, all led by the calm, soothing and yet poignant vocalist/guitarist Kyle Morton. One could tell they had done this many times before. The band is made up of a basic 4-piece band but also includes a 3-piece trumpet section, as well as two violinists, a cellist, a second drummer, keyboardist, and another percussionist. Occasionally the songs are accompanied by handclaps and multi-vocal harmonies. Typhoon is the next generation in well orchestrated indie folk/rock.
They put out a new EP this past spring titled A New Kind of House, and also under their belt is a full length album titled Hunger and Thirst, which took five years to be released. Their set consisted of 10 songs with a decent mix of a few from both recordings, including some new tracks that were well received by the crowd. There were a few notable numbers from H&T missing from the set (“Mouth of the Cave” and “Belly of the Cave”); but the performances of “White Liars,” “CPR Claws pt 2” and “Starting Over (Bad Habit)” were definite set highlights.
The band exited the stage and came back shortly after the main set to stomping and chants of “Dave,” (one of the band’s guitarists) as Morton announced that it was his birthday when the clock struck midnight. The set ended with an explosive encore of “Down, Cowboy,” which left the fans wanting more. The live experience of Typhoon is a must see so if they come to your town, so don’t miss them.
photos by Matt Lambert.