Who: Ben Kweller
Eric and I both like Guster. That’s why we became acquainted. We both like talking but are perfectly happy to listen. We both believe that Republicans are the work of Satan and both mock me for voting Republican anyway. We both laugh at Christians and laugh at me for trying to find God in spite of them. We have everything in common. And yet he’s 20 years my senior. And married. With children.
Nonetheless, Eric came alone tonight to accompany me to the Ben Kweller show at Little Brothers. Now, I saw Ben twice over Spring Break in Chicago this year. He was young and happy and in awe of his own success. He was also totally without talent, as far as I could tell. The sparse music playing behind his lyrics sounded like a twelve year-old added it just so that he could call himself a songwriter rather than a poet. The only things he had going for him were his “boyish good looks” and stage antics. Yes, the boy was funny. I had never heard any of his material (other than the stuff from his days in the band Radish back in the 90’s), so the song BK Baby with its hilarious lyrics parodying Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby set my belly to jiggling. But a good display of indie rock hair and excellent use of the word fuck wasn’t enough to win me.
But when I got home from Chicago and began listening to Ben’s MP3’s, I began liking him. His music seemed less like it was made on a Fisher Price toy piano and more like it was just complicated enough to not detract from his lyrics but not intricate enough to stop being catchy. His faltering voice took on a certain charm, and his lyrics really were rather cute and imaginative.
So I was more than happy to see Ben again tonight. Eric and I didn’t make it to dinner until around 8:30, so it wasn’t until exactly 10:30 that we walked into Little Brothers. And it was exactly 10:30 when Ben began his first song, BK Baby. Or at least I think that’s true. Because Ben was onstage without his band at that point and because he begins every show with that song. (And by every other show, I of course mean the other two shows that I’ve been to.) I’m perfectly happy to convince myself that we didn’t miss any of him, naturally. I am of the mind that a concert isn’t worth going to unless I’m in the front row where the band can see me singing along and adore me as much as I adore them, but this show was different for a few reasons: 1) I don’t have as intimate a relationship with Ben as I do most other bands I go to see (and by relationship, I of course mean inclination to stalk), 2) the sound at Little Brothers is 47.5 times better back by the soundboard than it is in front of the stage, and 3) all of the other fans were 12 years old, so I was worried that my Amazon 5’7” stature would block their view and cause them to whine.
So Eric and I hung out in the back, nodding our heads and peeking around the only other two tall people at the show to watch Ben shake his pretty hair while his guitarists harmonised and his drummer demonstrated the skills that Eric theorised he must have learned at the Dave Grohl School of Drumming. The setlist looked a little like:
Actually, I won’t bother to list the songs, because he more or less played the entirety of his album, Sha Sha. And I ain’t complainin’.
It was pretty warm in the venue and Eric was wearing a black mock turtleneck and sweater, so he left for a smoke-and-fresh-air-break (wow, how ironic) a couple of songs in, where he met a Columbus drunkard who had to ask whether it was day or nighttime. Ben had some great stage banter, which made me happy after the Chicago shows where he didn’t say a word except to tell us his name. He talked about the fact that he knew that today was the day of the big Ohio State/Michigan football rivalry and watched a little of it on TV, but he said that he also found Top Gun on some station and couldn’t help but flip back and forth between the two because Top Gun’s soundtrack is so cool. He then began singing a bit of Take My Breath Away and went into Danger Zone. And he said fuck a lot. It made me laugh, because Ben seriously looks like he could be 14 years old. He has the voice of a 14 year-old, too. It’s sort of high-pitched and always seems like it’s just on the verge of breaking up while he’s singing. Yep, it’s charming, all right.
Eric asked if I wanted a drink, so we went to the bar looking for water, but the bartender pointed us to Ben’s merch table. Incredibly, it looked like Ben had brought his own water cooler with him and set it up by the table with piles of plastic cups. Eric then bought us copies of Ben’s album to return my ticket-buying favour, so we rejoined the crowd refreshed and CDed. Just in time for an amazing version of No Reason. Now, while the guitar hook at the beginning of the song has always grabbed my attention, I really don’t at all enjoy the tune to which Ben sings the lyrics. But it was definitely my favourite song of the night, because right in the middle of it, the band went into this totally unexpected jam. Usually, Ben is pretty true to his records. No extraneous singing nor guitar solos. But the song must have lasted for at least 10 minutes tonight. The band took it down to just a little drum-and-bass line before adding first the lead guitarist and then Ben’s rhythm guitar. The three guitarists formed a little triangle facing each other, their long hair hanging over their eyes. It was way cool.
Ben came onstage alone for the encore and sang a song by himself before inviting his opener, Adam Green, to join him. Ben said that he and Adam had recently written a song together that they wanted to try for us. So they waited for the band to get situated, put their arms around each other, and sang The Beach Boys’ Kokomo. Yes, it was hilarious. And horrible. But hilarious.
So, I would say that I now officially enjoy Ben Kweller. I wouldn’t say that he’ll make a huge impact on the music of our generation. But you go ahead and just try to listen to In Other Words without shedding a little tear. The boy has talent, I tell you.
Where: Little Brothers • Columbus, Ohio
When: November 23rd, 2002