What Happened to Ben Harper?

Over the years, I have given Ben Harper plenty of my money and time. I was first introduced to him in the mid-90's when I started going to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and have been following him around periodically since. I have followed him through each new album and venture, from picking up the Innocent Criminals to the Blinds Boys of Alabama and now this new phase with the Relentless 7.

Each album created a new persona for Ben Harper, but it was still uniquely him. This new album and band seem far more removed from those previous standards. From articles that I have read about the direction he is heading, he wanted to turn towards a more stripped down rock 'n roll feel, although there are elements of that scattered throughout his previous records from Welcome to the Cruel World to Both Sides of the Gun. This new album lacks the soul and biting lyrical phrasing that made him appealing to large groups of diverse fans.

My wife and I are both graduates of Auburn University and have since moved back to that area. We found out that Ben Harper and the Relentless 7 were going to be performing a free concert for the students of the university. I did not give it much credence, but my wife was insistent that we go. She had seen him once a few years ago and instantly connected with his music. She knew very little of his song library at the time but was hooked from the first couple songs. I had already previewed the new album and kinda knew what it was going to be like, but I wanted my wife to be happy. So, we got student ID's and tickets from our nanny and her fiancee and headed to Beard Eaves.

They played songs only off the new albums with very little typical Ben Harper flair. It was only in the encore that the crowd that was left in the Coliseum really got into his cover of "Under Pressure." The Relentless 7 looked like a cookie-cutter house band, with their standard issue jeans, button up oxford shirts, and shaggy hair. They all looked like Bill Heder, from SNL, clones. They were not in sync, came in at wrong time, and had odd, almost corny, solos. The drummer spend more time bouncing up and down on his stool and throwing drum sticks up in the air than he did connecting with the guitarist, bassist and Ben. I felt like Ben still had something to prove to himself that he could take a mediocre band, at best, pull them under his wing, and build them (and this album) into something there are not.........good. That would be the motivation behind not playing any relatively known Ben Harper songs. It just feel short of the mark, and I was not the only one to notice. I made sure to veil my ho-hum sentiment until my wife spoke out first, and she confirmed it. No connection.

There was a limit of 8000 FREE tickets available. On the day of the event, our nanny went to pickup our ticket and it was around number 4500. I don't think there were that many that showed up, and I would guess that were only 2500 there for the encore. I am sticking by Ben Harper, but I am ready to sweep this itch that he had under the rug.

Photo from musicremedy.com and graphics from thescenestar.typepad.com