Review by Jane Wiedler
It was a sweltering evening that turned into a sweltering night with the
atmospheric piazza grande as a dream-like backdrop. ben harper opened
and owned the stage for a good hour before bob's roadies cleared it to its
most minimalist, with the piano, microphones, lights and gear placed way
back. as we were at the very front, it felt almost intimate - though the
view was quite one-sided and bob kept hiding behind his piano and
wandering about the stage looking a bit lost at times. at one point the
band lost him - looking searchingly at each other, syncopating emptily on
a G-chord, panicked. took them maybe 20 seconds to find his groove
again. phew. you've seen the setlist - a great mix of old and new songs
throughout that were performed as we could imagine they were lived:
bit of a sleazy (in a good way) "duquesne whistle", vicious on "pay in blood",
playful take on "don't think twice", sorrow under a full moon with empty
arms (once we'd shushed the ben harper fans behind us). and so time
stood still until we were almost sated, yet still hanging on for a little more,
dazzled by the yellow spotlights.
[TOP]