Houndmouth – Orange Peel – Asheville, NC – February 5, 2016

Most fans of any band tend go to see their music heroes in concert to not just hear and sing along to their favorite songs but to connect with the musicians on stage and to share an experience with them.

Had those actually been the goals of any fan of Houndmouth’s going into the band’s sold-out performance at the Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina last night they most definitely must have left the show unable to contain their inner most happiness while grinning from ear to ear.

Houndmouth delivered one of the most heart felt, joyous and just plain fun live shows the city of Asheville has barred witnessed to in quite some time.

The set list on the evening weighed more heavily toward the band’s sophomore release, Little Neon Limelight which saw the band play such stand out tracks as “Sedona”, “My Cousin Greg” “Gasoline” and “Black Gold”.

The band also sprinkled in some gems from their first record, From The Hills Below the City including “On the Road”, the Katie Toupin lead “Houston Train” and the fan favorite “Casino (Bad Things)”.

Few bands display as much sheer regalment on stage and with each as the four members of Houndmouth do.   When watching the band perform in a live setting it’s easily to get the impression that even if they were playing in an empty garage the band would have a rollicking good time.

By the time Houndmouth reached the three song encore portion of the evening I’m not sure there was a single member in the audience that wasn’t purely captivated and bewitched by the New Albany, Indiana based troubadours.   When the band broke out the Gary Wright classic “Dreamweaver” the entire audience launched into a 1,000-person karaoke version of the song that probably had most feeling they were actually part of the band.

And that’s the thing.  The members of Houndmouth are all superior song writers, vocalists and musicians but when the band performs live the biggest takeaway is the foursome’s ability to achieve a genuine symbiotic connection with the audience.

Having the opportunity to see a good live music performance is one thing. Leaving the venue feeling as though you just watched your best friend’s perform a show just for you is an experience very few bands are capable of delivering.

If you’re not friends with Houndmouth yet take my word for it, go attend any show they play within driving distance of your residence because I’m one-hundred percent confident upon the concert’s end you’ll want to go home and write a pen pal letter to Matt, Katie, Shane and Zak.

Dear Houndmouth, thank you for rocking my world.  Come back soon.  Very soon!!!!