Yup, Ben Harper Rocks
In 1999, I lived with my Oriental Wife in Santa Monica. We had a small apartment a few blocks from the Third Street Promenade, which boasted a Hear Music store. Hear Music (now owned by Starbucks) is known for its listening stations that are loaded with staff favorites and essentials. That particular store turned me on to so much good music that it is one my favorite music outlets of all time, along with Cellophane Square in my college town of Bellingham. But while the Cellophane Square furnished me with the bulk of my grunge selection, the Third Street Hear Music helped flesh out my taste for blues, folk, and pop that, while not exactly alternative, wasn't exactly mainstream, either.
Cut to Christmas of that year. I gave my next-door neighbor Mike a copy of The Number Devil, and he gave me a CD.
This one, to be precise.
Like "Houses of the Holy" in 1986, "Bleach" (yeah, not "Nevermind") in 1991, and "White Blood Cells" in 2003, "Burn to Shine" by Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals stands out as a musical turning point in my life. At first, I wasn't sure what to make of the album due to its sheer variety. Ranging from the grunged-out "Less" to the polka-esque "Suzy Blue" to the peppy beat-box of "Steal My Kisses", the album demanded -- and rewarded -- repeated listenings.
I bought Harper's other albums over a period of many months, afraid with each purchase that he would finally fall flat, prove that no one could be this good, that no one can consistently crank out such quality and variety. Each purchase proved my fears to be empty, though Harper did eventually stumble, with 2003's "Diamonds on the Inside". He also put out a stunning live album and a gospel album that won a Grammy. Earlier this year, Harper put out "Both Sides of the Gun", a double-CD that sparkles much brighter than "Diamonds" did and might just be his best work in a decade.
I first saw Harper in concert in 2000 at Seattle's Bumbershoot music festival, which he headlined. He was incredible, though I didn't know half the songs he played since I was still working my way through his albums. I do remember heading for the exit near the final number in order to get a jump on the crowd, when suddenly he busted out with Hendrix's "Manic Depression", which happens to be my favorite Jimi song. From then on, I was hooked.
He was in Seattle again less than a year later, and while that show was equally amazing, I wasn't able to enjoy it as much because a very pregnant Oriental Wife was freaking that all the pot smoke was going to deform our baby. It's hard to get into a show when your pregnant wife is waiting for you, steaming mad, out in the concourse. But it was Ben Harper and I tried my best.
In 2002, we moved back to China.
Fast forward to summer 2006. I'm in the Greek Theater at UC Berkeley, standing halfway up the bowl directly across from center stage as Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals take the stage and launch into "Breaking Down", whose infectious chorus makes it the perfect intro. They sustained the catchy vibe into the next number, "Steal My Kisses". If you've heard one Ben Harper song on the radio, that would be it.
Next up was "Get It Like You Like It", a new number that it one of the best on the rockin' half of the double album. Harper then sat down with his Weissenborn, a hollow-neck lap slide guitar that is his signature instrument. He stroked out an amazing version of "Faded" -- perhaps my favorite Harper song of all time. Sadly, he didn't insert the "Whole Lotta Love" medley like he did on his live album. There are very few people who can effectively cover Zep, and Harper's one of them. Song 5 was "Please Don't Talk About Murder While I'm Eating".
Ben then sat down for a pair of acoustic tunes consisting of "Waiting for You" and the lovely "Morning Yearning", both off the latest album. He kicked things up several notches by bringing back the slide for "Forgiven" and the ass-kicking "Ground On Down", which he segued into a stunningly heavy cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition".
Ben then busted out two mid-show crowd pleasers -- Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" and "Burn One Down". When he began the latter, you would have thought that the stage crew had fired up the smoke generators, but then you realize what you're seeing is a what amounts to an absolute thunderhead of pot smoke rising from the encouraged crowd.
Politics got front and center with "Black Rain", a blaxploitation-style funk number from the new album. That was followed with "Get Up, Stand Up", sung with Damian Marley, the youngest son of reggae legend Bob Marley. I think the main show ended at that point, at which point there was much applause and stamping and hooting, at which point a lengthy encore ensued.
Ben took it mellow once again with "By My Side" and "There Will Be A Light" from his gospel phase. Then he grabbed a dual-neck Weissenborn and played a lengthy and incredible instrumental that transformed into an old-school slide blues version of "Well Well Well", also off the gospel CD.
A trio of political numbers rounded out the show, each one building on the last. Anti-war piece "Gather Round the Stone" unsurprisingly won an enthusiastic reception from the young Berkeley audience. Harper than took a seat again with his regular Weissenborn and belted out a musically complex take of "Like a King", which drapes Maya Angelou's poem about the Rodney King beatings in exquisite slide and emotionally-charged vocals. There was a seamless transition into "I'll Rise", and when Harper belted out the chorus, I'll be damned if 5,000 middle-class white kids with cellphones and iPods didn't pump their fists and chant in agreement! Kidding aside, the song built to an amazing climax, with the percussionist and drummer leading the band to a frenzied peak of musical virtuosity.
I was certain that was the end, but Ben had one more treat for us: "Better Way", the first track off the new album. The soundcrew must have just been watching "Spinal Tap" because I think they dialed everything up to 11 for that one. It was a short but powerful finale for an amazing show that led Ben to tell the audience at one point that the Berkeley Greek was the "best venue in America" and, at the very end, gush that "these last few days in Berkeley have been the best of our musical lives".
After what I saw tonight, I believe it. Thanks for another awesome show, Ben.
Postscript: The set list was about as close to perfect as anyone had a right to demand. Almost all my top Harper songs were included. The only omission that stood out was that he didn't play "Serve Your Soul", an epic slide rock track that closes out the electric disk of the new double album. It would have been an awesome closer, but given everything else he did play, I'll happily shrug that off with an "oh well".
Postscript 2: Damn, he apparently played "Serve Your Soul" in Berkeley on Friday night, with Carlos Santana as a guest performer! But they didn't get "Faded", "Breaking Down" or "Forgiven", so I guess it's a wash.
I also thought it was interesting that he didn't play a single song tonight from "Diamonds on the Inside". Yeah, it's his weakest album, but not one track made it on to the set list. Odd.
Cut to Christmas of that year. I gave my next-door neighbor Mike a copy of The Number Devil, and he gave me a CD.
This one, to be precise.
Like "Houses of the Holy" in 1986, "Bleach" (yeah, not "Nevermind") in 1991, and "White Blood Cells" in 2003, "Burn to Shine" by Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals stands out as a musical turning point in my life. At first, I wasn't sure what to make of the album due to its sheer variety. Ranging from the grunged-out "Less" to the polka-esque "Suzy Blue" to the peppy beat-box of "Steal My Kisses", the album demanded -- and rewarded -- repeated listenings.
I bought Harper's other albums over a period of many months, afraid with each purchase that he would finally fall flat, prove that no one could be this good, that no one can consistently crank out such quality and variety. Each purchase proved my fears to be empty, though Harper did eventually stumble, with 2003's "Diamonds on the Inside". He also put out a stunning live album and a gospel album that won a Grammy. Earlier this year, Harper put out "Both Sides of the Gun", a double-CD that sparkles much brighter than "Diamonds" did and might just be his best work in a decade.
I first saw Harper in concert in 2000 at Seattle's Bumbershoot music festival, which he headlined. He was incredible, though I didn't know half the songs he played since I was still working my way through his albums. I do remember heading for the exit near the final number in order to get a jump on the crowd, when suddenly he busted out with Hendrix's "Manic Depression", which happens to be my favorite Jimi song. From then on, I was hooked.
He was in Seattle again less than a year later, and while that show was equally amazing, I wasn't able to enjoy it as much because a very pregnant Oriental Wife was freaking that all the pot smoke was going to deform our baby. It's hard to get into a show when your pregnant wife is waiting for you, steaming mad, out in the concourse. But it was Ben Harper and I tried my best.
In 2002, we moved back to China.
Fast forward to summer 2006. I'm in the Greek Theater at UC Berkeley, standing halfway up the bowl directly across from center stage as Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals take the stage and launch into "Breaking Down", whose infectious chorus makes it the perfect intro. They sustained the catchy vibe into the next number, "Steal My Kisses". If you've heard one Ben Harper song on the radio, that would be it.
Next up was "Get It Like You Like It", a new number that it one of the best on the rockin' half of the double album. Harper then sat down with his Weissenborn, a hollow-neck lap slide guitar that is his signature instrument. He stroked out an amazing version of "Faded" -- perhaps my favorite Harper song of all time. Sadly, he didn't insert the "Whole Lotta Love" medley like he did on his live album. There are very few people who can effectively cover Zep, and Harper's one of them. Song 5 was "Please Don't Talk About Murder While I'm Eating".
Ben then sat down for a pair of acoustic tunes consisting of "Waiting for You" and the lovely "Morning Yearning", both off the latest album. He kicked things up several notches by bringing back the slide for "Forgiven" and the ass-kicking "Ground On Down", which he segued into a stunningly heavy cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition".
Ben then busted out two mid-show crowd pleasers -- Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" and "Burn One Down". When he began the latter, you would have thought that the stage crew had fired up the smoke generators, but then you realize what you're seeing is a what amounts to an absolute thunderhead of pot smoke rising from the encouraged crowd.
Politics got front and center with "Black Rain", a blaxploitation-style funk number from the new album. That was followed with "Get Up, Stand Up", sung with Damian Marley, the youngest son of reggae legend Bob Marley. I think the main show ended at that point, at which point there was much applause and stamping and hooting, at which point a lengthy encore ensued.
Ben took it mellow once again with "By My Side" and "There Will Be A Light" from his gospel phase. Then he grabbed a dual-neck Weissenborn and played a lengthy and incredible instrumental that transformed into an old-school slide blues version of "Well Well Well", also off the gospel CD.
A trio of political numbers rounded out the show, each one building on the last. Anti-war piece "Gather Round the Stone" unsurprisingly won an enthusiastic reception from the young Berkeley audience. Harper than took a seat again with his regular Weissenborn and belted out a musically complex take of "Like a King", which drapes Maya Angelou's poem about the Rodney King beatings in exquisite slide and emotionally-charged vocals. There was a seamless transition into "I'll Rise", and when Harper belted out the chorus, I'll be damned if 5,000 middle-class white kids with cellphones and iPods didn't pump their fists and chant in agreement! Kidding aside, the song built to an amazing climax, with the percussionist and drummer leading the band to a frenzied peak of musical virtuosity.
I was certain that was the end, but Ben had one more treat for us: "Better Way", the first track off the new album. The soundcrew must have just been watching "Spinal Tap" because I think they dialed everything up to 11 for that one. It was a short but powerful finale for an amazing show that led Ben to tell the audience at one point that the Berkeley Greek was the "best venue in America" and, at the very end, gush that "these last few days in Berkeley have been the best of our musical lives".
After what I saw tonight, I believe it. Thanks for another awesome show, Ben.
Postscript: The set list was about as close to perfect as anyone had a right to demand. Almost all my top Harper songs were included. The only omission that stood out was that he didn't play "Serve Your Soul", an epic slide rock track that closes out the electric disk of the new double album. It would have been an awesome closer, but given everything else he did play, I'll happily shrug that off with an "oh well".
Postscript 2: Damn, he apparently played "Serve Your Soul" in Berkeley on Friday night, with Carlos Santana as a guest performer! But they didn't get "Faded", "Breaking Down" or "Forgiven", so I guess it's a wash.
I also thought it was interesting that he didn't play a single song tonight from "Diamonds on the Inside". Yeah, it's his weakest album, but not one track made it on to the set list. Odd.
<< Home