Ben, the two of us need look no more

(image ganked from the net by someone with a better vantage point and camera than we had. Go here for more.)

Over the past decade, we've been to see Ben Lee, Ben Folds and last Friday night we completed our trifecta of Bens (yt) and caught Ben Kweller doing his thing at the Hyde Park Hotel. (A geographic note: the HPH is a five minute stroll down the road from ours - sometimes the mountain does move to Mohammed.)

Opening with "The Rules", Mr Kweller and the two other gentlemen that comprise his Trio performed a set of songs as preternaturally excellent as the man himself. He seemed appreciative of performing before a crowd whose intimate knowledge of his body of work (from "Falling" through to "Sundress") allowed him to let them do half his singing for him.

Unfortunately as Gem and I are both somewhat petite in stature, it was a little difficult to get a good constant squizzie. At certain points, the band sounded like there were definitely more than three of them onstage with Mr Kweller alternating between guitar and keyboards.

I was disappointed that "Wasted & Ready", (to me, his "Hello, I'm Ben and this is what I do" breakthrough hit) didn't make the setlist. Nevertheless, the man had no shortage of equally catchy power-poppy tunes to make up for it.

Sartorial appreciation note: loved the red jacket. Made him look like an Oompa-Loompa....or, if you like, a Kweller-Loompa.


/ducks