BRENDAN BENSON enters stage front with Dean Fertitia from Waxwings showing support on keyboards and guitar. It's Brendan's first UK tour in over a year, and one of a a series of low profile acoustic shows showcasing a glimpse of new material from the new album due for release in February next year.
After a critically acclaimed first album and album two which saw fellow Detroit native Jack White acclaim 'Lapalco' to be his favourite album of 2002 ( even covering "Good to me"in numerous live performances) BB falls squarely into the category which boasts a wealth of talented bittersweet lycirsts such as Sondre Lerche. Imagine a fully grow Ben Kweller and you're pretty close.
The acoustic mood has changed to a lighter, more playful one as soon as, "Good To Me" with its educated, classic-sounding 1960s riff takes off and reveals lines like: "Coz I've known some girls in the past, The kinda love they got don't last." Such easy, but inventively witty lyrics seem to come as easily as a messy breakup and the inevitable heartbreak for Brendan.
"I do what I must, the alternative to love"and "ghost of you, a phantom pain" are just a smattering of the twisted sound bites. "Metarie"harbours "I'd like to move out of this place, change my name - get a new face" and "everybody I meet thinks I'm alright, pat my back - say I like your song." This latter is delivered with an irresistibly dry humour.
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Throughout the set, his cunning and easy charm shines through in equal measure. New songs overlap classic old tunes and that blend keeps the crowd completely engaged throughout. In fact, the compact crowd gather in front to breathe in every note sung, eager to complete the night and gush about what they'd seen in chatrooms no doubt. But to be fair such devotion is well deserved in this case.
Brendan breaks briefly and returns for requests and a four song encore, with old songs "Folk Singer" (with the memorable line "She says 'Stop pretending/ You're not John Lennon'") and "Your Quiet" stealing the show. It's easy to endorse the charismatic and decdeptively simple craft of someone so laid back with such a wickedly tender touch.
"That was real nice, I thought" he concludes, before leaving quietly. To which we all nod in agreement. 'Nuff said, really.
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