Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Burn to Shine

I wouldn't say I'm a huge fan of Ben Harper, but since they came through town last night, I decided to take the opportunity to check out the show. Especially since Caleb, Tanya, Josh, Sarah, Ryan, and the whole Roosters crew was going to be there, too.
The opener was Damien "Junior Gong" Marley, the youngest son of Bob Marley. He played sort of a reggae-meets-hip-hop set that was nice and easy to listen to. (Sarah and I were amazed at the guy who waved around a gigantic Jamaican flag for the entire hour-long set. He must have huge arms.) Plus, it was cool to see the son of such a legend.
Ben Harper and his band, the Innocent Criminals, put out some great alt-rock/soul/folk music, and have been doing so since 1993. Their biggest (only?) radio hit was 2000's "Steal My Kisses," but most of their material is edgier. The venue was the USANA Amphitheatre, which is a great place to see these types of bands because it's nice to just lay in the grass and listen.
The whole set was full of rootsy, jam-band-ish songs that made me unsure if I wanted to mellow out or dance around. Regardless, it was all enjoyable, and everyone had a great time.

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