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| From | "Durben, Steven" <Steven.Durben@cignabehavioral.com> |
| Subject | Benson/Kweller show in Minneapolis |
| Date | Wed, 5 Feb 2003 10:10:38 -0600 |
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Hi all, I went to the Ben Kweller/Brendan Benson show list night. It was a
KILLER show!!! Thanks again to all who recommended Mr Kweller.
Benson and the band sounded great! They sounded very tight. The last time I
saw him I bought his latest disc post the show. It was great to hear him now
after having the songs locked into my brain. He played two songs that I
don't think are on either of his discs. This show would have been worth the
price of admission alone.
Ben Kweller. (WARNING, WARNING: Severe gush coming, put on your hip boots).
I took a good friend with me last night. When Ben took the stage Chris
said with a laugh "You gotta be kidding me!". As you may all know, Ben's 20
years old but looks like he's 15 years old. Honest to god we were both
dumbstruck and mesmerized the entire show. To me, Ben has that "certain
something" that few do and that I have a hard time articulating. He struck
us both as an incredibly genuine, spontaneous performer and as someone who
THRIVES on stage. His comfort in playing and in being in the moment of the
song were astounding. He seems to "feel it" through every pore when he
plays but not in a "fake" kind of way. The songs just seem to inhabit him.
I know this sounds cliché but he's something else! He had the audience
eating out of his hand. After playing only two songs he was handed a note.
It was from two 20ish females wanting to play a song (what?, huh !?). Ben
read the note and said in his soft spoken kind of way "hey, would that be ok
with everyone if we let them sing". They came on stage, sang their song and
honestly they really were not show stoppers by any means (other then they
STOPPED the show). However, his rolling with this and then thanking them,
then afterwards saying "welcome to talent show, next were bringing out a
juggler"...just typical of a night that had many surprises. The crowd even
egged him on to doing a rap song (which obviously he does on occassion).
"Awe, man I can't rap" says Ben. Now, I'm so done with rap but this song
was very fun!. He rapped, making up the song as he went and had fun with it.
Anyway, he is the "man-child". It's so cool to see someone that one could
easily dismiss by age and appearance and witness the confidence, wit and
sincerity in his performance.....(the gush has subsided).
I still prefer Benson's disc and strongly recommend seeing his show too.
Ben just seems born to perform. What a double bill. Thanks for the tip all.
Best show I've see in quite a while. They play again tonight in Mpls (sold
out show). This show I saw was added and it was packed. Nice to see.
Steve D
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