Ben Harper has been on the scene now for over ten years, with six solid studio efforts under his belt, including last years critically acclaimed collaboration with the Blind Boys of Alabama, There Will Be A Light. Over that time span, his band, The Innocent Criminals, has seen some minor changes, most notably the fairly recent additions of Jason Yates (keyboards) and Michael Ward (guitar). Also on the stage at the Roseland were long time collaborators and fellow band mates, Juan Nelson (bass), Dean Butterworth (drums) and Leon Mobley (percussion). Together the six musicians play songs from a diverse pallet of musical genres including folk, blues, funk, soul and rock, of course. But in today’s age of genre mashing, that’s not that impressive. What is impressive is Harper’s apparent love for the music which comes across as genuine and as effortlessly as anybody else around.
The show opened with “Homeless Child” which features Harper on one of his signature Weissenborn acoustic guitars from the 1920’s which he plays over his lap. Other set highlights included the soul/pop number “Brown-Eyed Blues,” the you-can’t-read-a-book-by-it’s-cover tribute, “Diamonds on the Inside,” and the introspective “Glory & Consequence,” during which Harper climbed the stage-left speaker racks and finagled his way up to the balcony railing as he began slowly walking all the way around the balcony all while straddling the railing, a feat that requires great balance and tremendous fearlessness as one slip of the foot would have resulted in an ugly sight. Luckily for everyone involved, especially those seated in the first row balcony seats, he made it safely all the way back and climbed down the stage-right speaker cabinets immediately grabbing his guitar and rejoining the the jam before concluding the song.
Also of note that set was the Harper staple, “Burn One Down,” which always seems to politely invite everyone in attendance to break out whatever utensils they might have hidden in their socks and purses and fill the venue with a distinct cloudy layer of smoke much to the security guards chagrin. While the set had it’s moments, it was annoyingly abrupt and as Ben and the band said good night, one had to wonder if they were in a hurry to get to San Francisco.
The guys more than made up for the short set with an encore set that easily lasted as long or longer than the prior set. In fact, it was a 14-song encore to be exact with too many highlights to highlight. The ultra catchy “Steal My Kisses” segued nicely into “Pressure Drop,” by Toots & The Maytals. The commanding “Power of the Gospel” brought goosebumps to more people than just me, I assure you. “Pleasure And Pain” was a nice chance to see Ben play a duet with longtime friend Tom Freund, a friend who recorded a hard-to-find vinyl-only album with Ben Harper before Harper’s Innocent Criminal days, and who also opened this show. The final song, “With My Own Two Hands” was well received and eventually went into Bob Marley’s “War,” which left those of us in the room with a decidedly political mindset as we filed down the stairs and into the streets.
Unfortunately this show was only scheduled after the Zooma Tour with Trey Anastasio and others was cancelled, and while the Roseland is no Gorge Amphitheater (where Zooma was slated for a Northwest stop), it remains my favorite indoor venue in town and offers a far more intimate experience than the Gorge ever could dream of. Glory and consequence, I suppose.
Photos by Adam Foley
