You probably notice I write about Ryan Bingham plenty, even though his successful Oscar season has come and gone. But you know what? Sometimes you meet guys n this racket who are real and genuine and, above all, kind, and when someone like that has talent like this, you just want to see him succeed. And if you do what I do, you want to write about it.
Bingham and his band The Dead Horses played a sold out show last night at the El Rey on Wilshire. I’ve only seem him perform in a more intimate capacity (and we were robbed of the chance to see him grace the stage at the Kodak Theatre last year), so seeing him shred it to a capacity crowd was a special sight.
I kind of consider him a latter day Springsteen. His songwriting has taken huge leaps with the latest album, “Junky Star,” and he brings the energy like few contemporaries. And the sky could be the limit. We’re watching a superstar on the rise.
His good friends Colin Farrell and Reese Witherspoon were on hand. I also bumped into “Country Strong” star Garrett Hedlund (who I actually thought did a fine job in that film and could be an underestimated good thing for Walter Salles’s “On the Road”). But it was just great to see so many Bingham fans turn out. And they’re growing by the year. When I went back home for the holidays, a formerly frequented haunt suddenly had “Mescalito” on the jukebox and I just smiled.
Catch him if you get the chance.
Comments
6 responses to “Bingham on the rise”
Is he touring?
I believe he was. Not sure how deep into it he is right now.
for a moment I thought you were referring to George Clooney’s amazing character in “Up in the Air”, my personal favorite of 2009
He played Austin City Limits back in October, so fingers crossed he continues to do the festival circuit this summer (fingers crossed for Bonnaroo).
Also, good call about Hedlund’s performance in Country Strong. I was really not expecting him to be that good in it.
I imagine he’s going to win himself a Grammy pretty soon here. I was at the El Rey show, I thought The Silent Comedy (opening band) was also really good.
Tour dates, FYI:
FEB 05 – Los Angeles, CA : El Rey
FEB 06 – San Diego, CA : House Of Blues
FEB 08 – San Luis Obispo, CA : Downtown Brew
FEB 09 – Santa Ynez, CA : Tales From the Tavern
FEB 10 – Santa Cruz, CA : Rio Theater
FEB 11 – San Francisco, CA : Great American Music Hall
FEB 14 – Chico, CA : El Rey Theater
FEB 15 – Eugene, OR : Wow Hall
FEB 17 – Grants Pass, OR : Rogue Theater
FEB 18 – Seattle, WA : Neumos
FEB 19 – Portland, OR : Wonder Ballroom
FEB 20 – Vancouver : Venue
FEB 22 – Boise, ID : Egyptian Theater
FEB 23 – Salt Lake City, UT : In The Venue
FEB 25 – Denver, CO : Ogden Theater
FEB 26 – Aspen, CO : Belly Up
FEB 28 – Billings, MT : Babcock Theater
MAR 02 – Fargo, ND : The Aquarium
MAR 03 – Minneapolis, MN : Varsity Theater
MAR 04 – Madison, WI : The Majestic
MAR 05 – Milwaukee, WI : The Rave Bar
MAR 06 – Des Moines, IA : Vaudemille Mews
MAR 08 – Omaha, NE : The Waiting Room
MAR 10 – Indianapolis, IN : Birdy’s
MAR 12 – Louisville, KY : Headliners
MAR 13 – Columbia, MO : Blue Note
MAR 15 – Little Rock, AR : Rev Room
MAR 17 – Tulsa, OK : Cain’s Ballroom
MAR 19 – Houston, TX : House Of Blues
MAR 21 – Baton Rouge, LA : Varsity Theater
MAR 22 – New Orleans, LA : Tipitinas
MAR 24 – Birmingham, AL : Workplay Theater
MAR 25 – Atlanta, GA : The Loft
MAR 26 – Knoxville, TN : Bijou Theater