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MP3.com Live: Ben Harper's soul power
Versatile performer mixes political and love songs in a gripping set at Berkeley's Greek Theatre.
As a musician and singer, Ben Harper flat-out oozes soul and passion.
Sometimes it gets the best of him, as on his overeager-by-half double album Both Sides of the Gun, released in March.
Ben Harper at the Greek Theatre.
But more times than not, and undoubtedly in a live setting, that soul and passion make him one of the most compelling forces in music.
Saturday night at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California, Harper played a two-hour set that was both gripping and gracious, showing off his trademark blend of spirited political protest songs, searing guitar solos, and sweetly soulful love ballads that can make thousands go weak in the knees.
Backed by his five-piece Innocent Criminals band, Harper showed off a versatility that is unmatched by anyone in music save for Willie Nelson. He also seemed to enjoy performing more than ever, literally rushing to change instruments between songs as if he couldn't wait to play the next number.
Both Sides is laden with some incredible songs, but like many double albums, it also includes a handful of misses. In a journalists' roundtable before he kicked off this tour, Harper said the move to expand to two discs was the result of a writing spree he went on while recording the album last fall.
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals at the Greek Theatre.
"'Black Rain,' for instance, was written in response to the lack of response from this current [Bush] administration in New Orleans," Harper said. "I started with too many songs and ended up with way too many songs. But these were songs that I wasn't going to leave off the record."
The scorching "Black Rain" packed a wallop Saturday night. Over a funky rhythm that leaned heavily on bassist Juan Nelson, Harper stretched out several verses, including the bitter and blunt-as-a-knife line, "Don't you dare speak to us like we work for you."
And lucky enough for Berkeley fans, Harper didn't play many of the songs that he should have left off of Both Sides after the late writing spree. Instead, he dug deep into his back catalog and into those of some of the legendary singers from whom he has drawn inspiration, including Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye.
Marley's influence on Harper has appeared to heighten recently, and Harper said last month that he plans to make a full-blown reggae record in the next five years. Late in the set Saturday night, Harper brought opening act Damian Marley and his Rastafarian flag-waving sidekick to the stage for a cover of the elder Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up."
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals at the Greek Theatre.
Damian Marley continues to do his father proud, invoking Bob's spirit but updating it with faster tempos and a hip-hop- and dancehall-tinged vocal style. His one-hour opening set was similar to those he's been playing for the past year, but Marley seemed much more comfortable on stage. He should--he's been a workhorse, touring constantly for more than a year in support of his acclaimed Welcome to Jamrock album.
But although "Get Up" was the only reggae track of the night, Harper brought Marley's spirit, and particularly his call for social change, to an assortment of other genres Saturday night. No other track embodies that spirit more than "Better Way," the standout track from Both Sides and the night's closer. "Better Way" is steeped in the same power-to-the-people resistance vibe as other songs Harper played Saturday, including "I'll Rise" and "Like a King," but it's imbued with an energy that is both angry and hopeful.
"Change is a big-ass tree and I'm a small motherf***ing axe," Harper said in the roundtable. "In my life, times have never been more charged than they are now, and I am proud to be one of the many voices of the silent majority, and I'll keep putting it out there as I see it."
For two hours Saturday night, Harper wielded that axe like a true craftsman.
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