About four months back, I bought tickets to go and see Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals. And then totally forgot about the concert.
Until last Wednesday night. And the concert was Monday night. So I had to try to find a date at the last minute, which was interesting.
And I did have a date planned. With a nice girl too. But she got sick or wanted to bail (for the record, she did sound really sick when she called), one of the two. So I took my old man. It was a great show. If there is one artist that I listen to that is passionate about their music, it would be Ben Harper, hands down.
Here are my thoughts about the evening, in no particular order:
1. What I like about Ben Harper is that there is no one else I can think of that offers so much musically, than him and the Innocent Criminals. He can't really be categorized into one or even two specific genres. I guess if you had to put his music in a category, it would be something like reggae/funk/alternative. Maybe?
2. The opening act was a dude who played guitar and seemed to be yodelling the whole time. His name is Piers Faccini, and apparently he's a guy who likes to yodel while he sings. Here's his website. It's in both English and French, which means I'll probably never visit it again, but whatever. It was pretty decent music all in all. It just would fit a little bit better in The Sound of Music, that's all. Check him out though, I am sure all you ladies will just love him.
3. For some reason, I am a sit-down-and-chill-out-at-concerts kind of guy. And I've always been like this too. Makes me sound really really old, I know. But I just would rather sit and chill and listen to the actual music than jump around or mosh or dance for that matter. I don't want anything to do with any of that. So I was happy to see there was a seat set aside for every single person in the joint. My kind of concert.
4. There are lots of little things about people at concerts that make me want to punch everyone in the face. Tops on the list? Hippies dancing. And there was no shortage of them at this particular concert. They really...(pause for dramatic effect)...really, suck at dancing. Like, really. They do this thing, where they are trying to become a wave of the ocean? Or something stupid like that? I really have no clue what it is. (Notice that past couple of question marks.) But it's terrible, and ugly.
5. I thought it was pretty cool that my dad, who is 59 yrs old, was cool enough to go to a Ben Harper concert. I told him afterwards that it added to his street cred. My dad is pretty cool like that though. He's always been up for a good concert. He's seen Lynyrd Skynyrd, Son Volt and They Might Be Giants twice. And now he can add Ben Harper to that list. He didn't appreciate the hippies dancing either.
6. Did I already mention how bad hippies are at dancing? They really, really suck. They do this thing where they try to flail every limb simultaneously. Can you picture it? You know what I am talking about right? And everyone was doing it. I guess it was the "thing to do." Dare I say, these hippies were conforming? The world must be coming to an end, people.
7. Like I mentioned earlier, I like being able to sit down at a concert. I like having that option, while still being able to see the band. Most of the people at the Ben Harper show, were happy to sit down for most of the show as well. It was great. But there was one girl who felt the need to stand THE ENTIRE TIME. And in all the many many cubic meters of space in the Keller Auditorium, was she standing? Yep, in front of me. This kind of person really needs to be removed from a concert if you ask me. And by removed, I mean beaten severely. I could have killed this chick.
8. The most amazing site of the night was this. I saw everything from 5 year old kids with their parents to couples in their 60's enjoying a rare night out. I was amazed how diverse the people are that listen to Ben Harper as well. You usually don't see hippies and old conservative people at the same concert, let alone in the same room. I think that really says something about the musical talent that he has. Most bands don't, and can't for that matter, appeal to that many age groups and lifestyles at once.
So despite almost getting decked by many flailing hippie limbs, it was a great show. I would highly recommend catching the next show when he comes to town again. Sorry about the blurry pics, but my camera is crap and it can't figure out how to take photos at concerts. So oh well.
