It was a great night last night for music on late-night television. Let’s start at the very top of the mountain of music.  Iron & Wine performed new songs Low Light Buddy of Mine and then (in a web-exclusive) Caught in the Briars/Sundown medley, all off their brilliant new album Ghost on Ghost on Conan.  Check out Sam Beam’s big band (Sam + 12) first playing spare and spirited on Low Light Buddy of Mine, resolved with horns and background vocals meshing perfectly on the refrain.  On Caught in the Briars/Sundown all three trios (strings, horns and vocals) were put to superb effect.  Soul and all that jazz combined.  Oh how far Beam has come from the nylon-stringed whisper-and-hush of The Creek Drank the Cradle.

We can’t say enough about Sam Beam’s scintillating songwriting and the band’s live show (see our review of their January 2011 Wiltern show HERE).  In this era of slimmed-down band offerings (see: over the duos) and expense limitations it is heartwarming to see Beam casting cost issues aside and laying out full-stop.  Do what you have to do to catch them live on their tour (dates can be found HERE).  They open up their tour at the Bottle Rocket Festival in Napa this Saturday and, as of now, not scheduled to return to Cali.  A crying shame.

We’ll have a full review of Ghost on Ghost soon.  In the meantime, do yourselves a favor or two and watch these clips from Conan.