JOHN BUTLER AT HOTEL CAFE

I was lucky to catch John Butler Trio at Hotel Cafe tonight - it was BAAAAAAAD. Those guys have a dirty DIRTY groove that is such an inherent part of every tune that you can't help but nod the head and shake a little (even if you are trying to play the part of Super Hip Non-Emoting-I-See-Shows-All-The-Time guy). It's not like I forgot, but I was definitely reminded what a badass this man is. And on toppa all that, he and everyone in his camp are some of the best people around. New record comes out on March 27th - do yourself a favor. New single is here on iTunes. Check out the older stuff, too - it's all good.
Today I went for a jog, ran past a bakery, took a deep breath, and my first thought was "am I about to have a stroke?!??" True story.

BEN HARPER AT HOTEL CAFE

Please Don't Talk About Murder When I'm EatingGather 'Round the StoneAmen OmenLifeline
"Lifeline" was played solo and is the title track off the new record. The other 3 songs were played like acoustic versions of the full band.
Very cool evening - I was lucky to be in the room, and it was tremendous to see one of the nicest, most genuine, all around greatest guys in music again. It's a simple reminder of why you'd jump into your bright green 1999 Hyundai Accent with some random Frenchman and drive all over the southeast, midwest, and east coast to see as much music as you can no matter the distance, cost, or consequence.
And as ridiculous as it sounds, that sort of poor decision making led to an obsession with live music, which led to an involvment with live music, which led to a job in live music.
Anyway, it was a great night - makes you think about how lucky and how blessed life can be.