There are not many singer-songwriters who can silence a room the way John Moreland can. The audience at the Culture Room may not have been as quiet as I have experienced at previous shows of John’s I have attended, but they were much more attentive than audiences at many other shows.

John Moreland

People with whom I spoke before the show started did not know John and I told them they were in for a treat!

John is currently touring as the opener for Iron & Wine; even though most people were there to see the headliner, they showed up early to see John (something that frequently did not occur at the Boston shows I attended). I only sought approval to photograph the show from John’s team, so I did not shoot Iron & Wine (unfortunately – everyone in the band was extremely expressive and would have photographed well).

John Moreland

John has a full band on his albums, but I have seen him either solo or with another guitarist; this night he had a guitarist named John Calvin with him and he added some depth to the music that I enjoyed. He also played the harmonica on at least one song.

John Calvin

John writes many love songs and, regardless of whether they are happy or sad songs, they all convey a sense of hopefulness.

John Moreland

I have yet to be in a position to see the tattoos on the fingers of John’s left hand, but I hope they read “H O M A”.

John Moreland’s right hand tatttoos

John’s songs should be listened to, and I hope many people brought his music home with them after this show. He will go far in the music world!

John Moreland

As I was not approved to photograph Iron & Wine, this review will make brief mention of the fantastic headlining set. I had never seen Iron & Wine (also known as Sam Beam) with a full band, and what a revelation it was! This, however, is a sho I took with my cell phone.

Iron & Wine

Touring with a female drummer (who has an incredibly expressive face), a keyboardist (who also had an expressive face), cellist, bass player, and another guitarist, they supported him beautifully.

The set design was terrific, although I think the only clouds around that night were the ones on the stage. This is south Florida, after all!

I was impressed with the venue; everywhere I stood had good sound, and the lighting was good as well. I will return.

Ticket courtesy of John Moreland; all opinions are my own.