Testimonial - Ben Harper

(I wrote this over a week ago and never posted it)


He's a prolific musician and chances are you know his work. 'Steal my kisses' was all the rage in '99 and 'Woman in you' was in almost every playlist I made from highschool through college. His list of collaborations is long and distinguished < insert joke here >. He's a two time grammy winner, plays a mean slide guitar, and writes socially conscious music to go with his activist resume. But of his qualifications, what endears his music to me most is the unparalleled, mind blowing, soul liberating experiences I have had at his live shows. I'm going to share with you two experiences which I hope compel you, by ANY means necessary, to see him LIVE.

bonnaroo 2007
I spent a lot of time at the bluegrass tent, mostly because John Paul Jones of Led Zepellin produced over half the bands and was playing mandolin with them to boot. Rumor 'round the tent was that he would be playing with Ben Harper and I knew that was a show I couldn't miss. When Jones finally made his entrance, he started accompanying with the mandolin. But then.. he picked up the bass.. and he began playing the haunting, groaning intro to Dazed and Confused, and to this day, when I play the video clip and remember that moment electricity runs through my entire body - head to toe. It sounds cliche, but the moment was truly transcendent. Ben's strikingly emotive voice, the gravity of hearing a legend like John play brought the song to life in a way I had never experienced before. It took me back in time. It was a place in time that I had obviously never been, but I somehow felt connected to it. If I had to pinpoint the instance where I first truly understood what it meant to love music, that would be it.

The song 'Better Way'
The performance of this one song stands out in my mind more than any song i've heard at any other show, save the one listed above. I'm going to paint a picture, and when i'm done, close your eyes. Play the song. Turn it all the way up, and picture you're there with me.

A concert in an intimate outdoor theater on the leeward side of a hot NC summer. It's the release tour for 'Both Sides of the Gun', an album inspired by a nation discontent with recent government action and inaction, most notably in the wake of Katrina. Barefoot in the grass, enveloped in a warm sticky humidity, and standing in a light rain that had been persisting for hours, they start to play 'Better Way'. There is an undulating fog of mist and smoke hanging over the crowd, which is suddenly filled with a fluorescent purple light pouring from the stage. Light threads visibly between hundreds of hands and fingers outstretched in the sky. Ben sings, pleads to us, his voice in the air as thick as the mist and as palpable as the rain drops falling on our hands and face. He comes to the end of the stage, the people surrounding him, reaching out to him, they begin holding him up.. he screams:

"Reality is sharp it cuts at me like a knife
Everyone I know is in the fight of their lives,

and I believe there's a better way!"

An anguish so genuine it brought tears to my eyes...

Yes I believe there's a better way...




I also recommend watching the music video.