[tws]

Okay, here is take two. Me trying to redeem that impotent excuse for a previous entry. This was a very busy weekend, for a number of performance art-related reasons. The one that I implied already was the opportunity to check out the honorable Ben Kweller in a free performance at the Kennedy Center. My friend Hannah and I saw him at the 9:30 club last year in what was a good show in its own right. (photo to right by Steve Hopson)

Seeing him at the Kennedy Center was almost a revelation. (If you have RealPlayer, you can watch the whole performance right here). The guy is one tiny step down from legitimate superstar status. By the time he returned to the stage for his encore "Penny on the Train Track," (pulling off a fucking cartwheel, too, which probably hasn't been done by the likes of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on that stage) I couldn't shake the feeling that Ben Kweller is probably the closest thing this generation has to a Paul McCartney. There is no one else out there who is dorky enough for the hipster set yet still hip enough for the dorky set. I can't think of anyone whose appeal spans so many social strata, demographics, particularly that of age, while still burning up radio and the pop charts. A few rows ahead of me sat a pair of old women who vigorously cheered on Kweller amid the screams of hundreds upon hundreds of teenyboppers. I looked around and saw the twenty-something hipsters in reverence, while clusters of frat-pack types danced in their chairs and sang along even before the crowd stood up once Kweller and his rhythm section broke into "Sha Sha."

It never hit me why Kweller is such a smash now until seeing this show, which he (somewhat sincerely) said was one of his favorite he's ever played. First and foremost, he seems like a genuinely cool guy. He is pretty straightforward, wholesome, and actually (get this) gives a shit during his performances. Someone you'd actually want to hang out with after the show. I couldn't say the same for just anyone whose CD is readily available at Starbucks. Yes, even this event overcame the coffee juggernaut's shitstain for a few transcendent moments. This almost made me change my mind about the concept of Starbucks selling CD's. Kweller has more resiliency and staying power than most any other pop star today. He appeals to the kids because, to be perfectly honest, he doesn't look or sound a ton different than he did when he was 15 and fronting Radish.

I vaguely remember seeing Radish as the musical guest on Letterman in 1997, when I first started staying up late to watch it. By 2000, I remember reading about that "little band that couldn't" considering how Radish were supposed to strike gold in that era of teenage bands like Hanson and Silverchair. Appropriately enough, Radish were at the forefront of this crazy new Mp3 technology at the time their label were pushing them. They unraveled, Kweller retreated to a town right near my hometown in Connecticut, strangely enough, to recuperate, then came back, out of nowhere in 2001 and 02 with a phenomenal power-pop album called Sha Sha. So, in a strange way to many people in my age group, it's like we grew up with the guy. Except, he's the one with the major record deal and millions of screaming fans. From what I understand, he's all over Adult Contemporary radio now, which I don't find the least bit surprising.

One thing particularly admirable about him is that he'll go to any length to make the audience feel glad they came out. Last year at the Austin City Limits festival, he went onstage with a life-threatening nosebleed and still played through most of the set. Don't believe me? (Warning, not entirely SFW and not for the squeamish).



It seems like no one really knows what caused the nose bleed. It may have just been an honest burst capillary, or it may have been cocaine. Though, somehow if you snort enough coke to make your nose gush blood like that you're not going to play a set outdoors in Austin. You're going to do something much less exerting, like die.

So, who knows if Kweller's albums will continue to devolve like they have been since Sha Sha, but for now he's providing a valuable service to our culture. Unlike many of the greatest bands in the world right now, he's bringing so many people with disparate tastes and sensibilities together under one roof and one sound. What is music, anyway, other than something to enjoy at the end of the day?

See John Cage put in his two cents, in one of the coolest things I've seen in some time. Sorry, I needed an excuse to tack this on here. I'd never seen Cage on film before. He reminds me of Lyle Lovett and Peter Lorre. Strange. I also find the over the top cigarette sponsorship hilarious.