Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Wonder Show of the World

Bonnie “Prince” Billy's latest pairs Will Oldham's backwoods bark and Cairo Gang frontman Emmet Kelly's streaming folk and blues guitar. The result is stripped-down folk songs with flourishes of classic-country melodies and gospel harmonies.

Oldham's intimate lyrics focus on failed relationships and lost love, his Kentucky drawl, as usual, the main force. But behind Oldham's quivering voice, Kelly balances restraint with deep, distorted blues, slide, and acoustic strum.

"I once loved a girl but she couldn't take that I visited troublesome houses. She'd say when I got home to leave her alone. She could taste trouble on my mouth," croons Oldham on the opening track.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The duo makes due with the barest of essentials, but on songs such as “Teach Me To Bear You,” “Where Wind Blows,” and “Someone Coming Through,” the voice and guitar are a bit too bare. The listener waits for something to take hold, it just doesn’t come.

But The Wonder Show is wondrous at times, such as on standout tracks “Troublesome Houses,” “The Sounds Are Always Begging,” “Merciless and Great,” and “Go Folks, Go,” which have just the right mix of Kelly's accomplished guitar and Oldham's leaf-snap of a voice.

  • Album: The Wonder Show of the World (2010)
  • Artist: Bonnie Prince Billy and the Cairo Gang
  • Label: Drag City
  • Songs: (1) Troublesome Houses (2) Teach Me to Bear You (3) With Cornstalks or Among Them (4) The Sounds Are Always Begging (5) Go Folks, Go (6) That's What Our Love Is (7) Merciless and Great (8) Where Wind Blows (9) Someone Coming Through

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Five new golden locals

San Diego rocks the rockies
Next Article

Bait and Switch at San Diego Symphony

Concentric contemporary dims Dvorak

Bonnie “Prince” Billy's latest pairs Will Oldham's backwoods bark and Cairo Gang frontman Emmet Kelly's streaming folk and blues guitar. The result is stripped-down folk songs with flourishes of classic-country melodies and gospel harmonies.

Oldham's intimate lyrics focus on failed relationships and lost love, his Kentucky drawl, as usual, the main force. But behind Oldham's quivering voice, Kelly balances restraint with deep, distorted blues, slide, and acoustic strum.

"I once loved a girl but she couldn't take that I visited troublesome houses. She'd say when I got home to leave her alone. She could taste trouble on my mouth," croons Oldham on the opening track.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The duo makes due with the barest of essentials, but on songs such as “Teach Me To Bear You,” “Where Wind Blows,” and “Someone Coming Through,” the voice and guitar are a bit too bare. The listener waits for something to take hold, it just doesn’t come.

But The Wonder Show is wondrous at times, such as on standout tracks “Troublesome Houses,” “The Sounds Are Always Begging,” “Merciless and Great,” and “Go Folks, Go,” which have just the right mix of Kelly's accomplished guitar and Oldham's leaf-snap of a voice.

  • Album: The Wonder Show of the World (2010)
  • Artist: Bonnie Prince Billy and the Cairo Gang
  • Label: Drag City
  • Songs: (1) Troublesome Houses (2) Teach Me to Bear You (3) With Cornstalks or Among Them (4) The Sounds Are Always Begging (5) Go Folks, Go (6) That's What Our Love Is (7) Merciless and Great (8) Where Wind Blows (9) Someone Coming Through
Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Dim Sum Tour, Warwick’s Holiday Open House

Events November 24-November 27, 2024
Next Article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader