Erik Meier’s signature plangent wail could be heard echoing up the stairs from Union Hall’s small basement venue. Even over the crowd chatter Bird Courage’s songs sailed above the din creating an ethereal nostalgia. The band looked like they might have just rolled out of a boxcar together, and their stripped-down instrumentation complemented the aesthetic. From the melodica to the bowed acoustic guitar or glockenspiel to the muted floor tom and tambourine, bandmates Sam Saffery and Sean McMahon offered emotive and chaotic accompaniment to Erik’s acoustic guitar and ukulele compositions. By the middle of the set the crowd patter had extinguished entirely, and at the end when the band left the stage to form a circle in the middle of the crowd for their finale, even newcomers joined in the heartwarming refrain, “Home sweet home is the lonely road if your only home is the lonely road.” I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of them followed the band back to their boxcar. – BrokeMc
