I’ve had my hands on this alternate version of I Might Have Guessed for a little while now – hey, these are the perks of treating Birdmonster to classy, 24-hour Mexican food after shows – but now that RCRD LBL has unleashed it, I suppose it’s OK to post.
In its original incarnation, I Might Have Guessed closes out From the Mountain to the Sea in acoustic bliss, a bit of a mandolin-laced cool-down period.
On the “Mean Version,” Birdmonster plugs in, adds drums and shows some teeth. It seems like a simple yet rarely executed concept: amplifying an acoustic song. Turning a ballad into a beast. The guys keep the mandolin here, but the driving drums ramp up the tempo and muscle. But just so we’re clear, nobody would ever accuse those Birdmonster boys of being mean.
I have to second your final mention, these guys are perfect house guests.