Tyler Ramsey & Carl Broemel at the Rabbit Box
It’s hard to get more Seattle than attending a show at a live music venue tucked right inside Pike Place Market with former members of the Seattle-formed Band of Horses, and Carl Broemel of My Morning Jacket. This cozy venue feels like walking into a speakeasy jazz bar, hidden behind a thin veil next to a busy and bustling intersection where Pike St and 1st Ave meet. While you might be familiar with another venue across the corner, The Showbox, The Rabbit Box brings a toned down, cocktail bar vibe for enjoying local and touring acts. While this show was originally planned for The Crocodile, attending the show at The Rabbit Box created a feeling of community amongst the audience with its tiny tables filled with cocktails, coffee, and small bites that continuously streamed out of the kitchen and caught my eyes and nose every few minutes.
Opening the show was Mat Brooke, our first former member (2004-2006) of Band of Horses. Mat mentioned that this was really a tour of the artists’ collective acoustic passion projects following the release of our headliner’s album, Celestun. Now based in Port Angeles, Brooke has been popping up around Seattle playing his music in places like Smith Tower. Mat’s vocals brought a sense of comfort mixed with a feeling of resolved sadness that pulls you in and makes you feel like you’ve worked through it all together being right by his side. If you’re looking to follow along with his current journeys, his Facebook page is probably your best bet, or you can go the extra mile and even visit the restaurant he and his wife opened in Port Angeles back in 2018 called Spruce.
Tyler Ramsey formerly of Band of Horses, and Carl Broemel of My Morning Jacket, brought this tour together to tour the release of this collaborative album titled Celestun. As we waited for them to take the stage, you could actually find them grabbing drinks at the beautiful cave-like back corner bar of The Rabbit Box. I even overheard a passing conversation with Tyler where he said, “We can start whenever, we’ve got plenty of music to play.”
Imagine you’ve just brewed a cup of coffee and stepped out onto a balcony looking into an endless forest of evergreen trees. This is exactly what it feels like when you sit down and start listening to Celestun. The album ushers you into this space of warm introspection and cozy blanketed comfort. As anyone from the Pacific Northwest would tell you, this is exactly what it feels like to spend time out in a place like the Olympic Forest, or really many of the beautiful areas we have in this region. Tyler even mentions the last song on the album was written on his daughter’s miniature nylon string guitar. After finishing songs from Celestun, the duo followed it up with a Neil Young cover, mentioning that a few run-ins with this hero of theirs is likely the cause of some not so joyful hearing loss.
At some point in the night, Tyler and Carl took the time to shout out how the staff of The Rabbit Box have been the most hospitable staff at a venue they’ve ever experienced. I was told by one of the band’s crew that even though they only requested water for the green room, the staff were quick to insist that they enjoy some food on the house.