Concert Review: John Butler Trio - 11/11/07

Not sure if anyone here cares about this band, but I have nowhere else to post this until my site goes live. So maybe I can convince some of you to check them out? They're truly an amazing band.




The John Butler Trio is a band I happened upon by chance. Somewhere out there there's a rock band called the John Smith Experience, or something like that. Someone had told me to check them out. So one day a few years back, surfing through the Music Choice video channels on TV, I saw a video for this group the John Butler Trio. I had thought it might be that rock group. The video was for the song "Zebra." Immediately I knew it was a different band, with it not being much of a rock song, but the simply yet catchy acoustic riff caught my attention. Half way through the video I was a fan. The next day I purchased Sunrise Over Sea and the US version of Three; I also found the What You Want EP used. I was thoroughly hooked at this point.

A few months later the John Butler Trio played a show here in Boston, on my birthday no less, so I convinced a friend of mine to come with me. She wasn't familiar with the band aside from a few videos I told her to check out. We caught the band at the Somerville Theater and they put on a brilliant show to about 350—if even that much—enthusiastic fans. The band won over a new diehard fan in my friend that night, and it was a sweet birthday present for me (she paid, too!). So it was last night that we again ventured out for another show. They played the Orpheum Theater this time. My first thought walking up to the venue was, "Wow! There's a lot of people here." And that was just outside. Inside, the place was packed, wall to wall people. The diversity of the crowd was also pretty amazing; from 12 year old kids to people whose grandchildren could have teenage kids of their own, and every age in between. Quite a jump in crowd size since our first show at the Somerville Theater, just two years previous.

We found our seats on the upper level in the old theater—built in 1852—and finished watching the set of Ian Ball, member of British indie rockers Gomez. It was just Ian on an acoustic guitar and a keyboard player, and while the music wasn't terrible, I didn't find the songs to have much personality. By the time the John Butler Trio hit the stage my lower legs were asleep from the cramped space between the rows of seats, so I was pretty happy to stand. The band kicked into "Used To Get High" from the most recent release, Grand National. The cheers from the kids in the crowd every time John sang "I used to get high" tells me that they completely miss the point of this song, which has nothing to do with drugs. "Pickapart" and "Something's Gotta Give" came next and got the show and crowd rockin'. The upper balcony was shaking and bouncing so much I couldn't help thinking that something was gonna give, the entire balcony! Luckily the integrity of the building is sound and something didn't give. Next the band slowed it down a bit for "Daniella" and the hurricane Katrina disaster-inspired "Gov Did Nothing." Toward the end of "Gov Did Nothing" John was singing into the pick-up of his guitar, a cool little thing that seem to confuse everyone around me; they all thought he was playing the guitar with his tongue or teeth. They slowed things down again with "Caroline," a nice reprieve from standing, as now my feet were hurting.

The mid-point of the show is where the band seemed to change. The first half was great, but something seemed to energize them even more toward the middle, and the extended intro (a live staple) of "Treat Yo Mama" and the jammed-out mid-section was something to behold. At this point bassist Shannon Birchall and drummer Michael Barker left the stage. John then put on a touching solo performance of "Losing You" before launching into one the most amazing instrumental tracks I've ever heard, "Ocean." Before the song he spoke about this song being a prayer of sorts. His exacts words were lost on my ears as the younger people in the crowd couldn't seem to stand the quiet and had to scream nonsense every time John tried to speak (possibly the worst part of the show, along with people clapping along off-rhythm). Either way, as the ever powerful crescendos of this ten-minute-plus epic came and went, the goose bumps lingered well after the song was over. For a song meant as a prayer, and one without any lyrics, it still manages to be heard loud and clear. And John seemed to play it with more fire than I've heard before. A truly brilliant piece of music. "Groovin' Slowly" came next, and that's what we all did. Then came the surprise highlight of the night, the not-often-played "Valley," from the first John Butler (solo) album, and it got the crowd and band energized again. And it didn't let up. "Zebra" and "Good Excuse" followed, with the latter showcasing an extended jam that included an awe-inspiring drum solo and a tremendous solo on the stand-up bass.

The band left the stage and returned for an encore with Ian Ball and his keyboard player. They knocked out a rockin' version of the Beatles' classic "Come Together," which was another highlight for me as I was telling my friend about how good it was earlier, but having only seen videos of it online beforehand. Ian Ball and his tie-wearing friend left the stage and the trio capped the night with "Better Than" and the perfect show closer "Funky Tonight," which at one point had all three band members joining Michael on the drum riser for an outstanding drum solo and jam. Perfection. The integrity of the building may have remained intact, but the John Butler Trio blew the proverbial roof off the joint.

At one point during the night, John mentioned that this show was the largest crowd they've played to in the US to date (not including festivals, of course), with more than 2,000 people having showed up. In today's musical climate, it's pretty amazing that an independent artist can go from playing to a crowd of just a few hundred to over thousands in just two years time. It's also a testament to the power of great music, and this trio have it perfected.

Website: http://www.johnbutlertrio.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/johnbutlertrio
Downloads: Funky Tonight (Video), Zebra (Video), Better Than (Video), Good Excuse (Video), Ocean (Live Video)

enjoyed the review, and i like this band

EvyMetal wrote:

enjoyed the review, and i like this band

Thanks. They're such a great band. Seeing them live is highly recommended. They blew me away the other night.

Their hugely popular here in Australia. No. 1 albums, ARIA awards (Australian grammy) and all over radio and tv to the point were alot of people including me are sick of them. Although i wasn't much of a fan to begin with. John's a very talented guitarist and singer, but i can't stomach his constant preaching of causes and extremist left wing dogma. All of which came to a head around the time they performed at the Sydney Live Earth concert, he has almost become an Australian Bono but more outspoken. I guess its the music that counts but some things get in the way of that enjoyment. Cool you dig them though.

He's never been overly outspoken here. I think he's said just enough and he's done so intelligently. Maybe he shows more passion in Australia? Either way, I don't mind people like him, long as they speak with intelligence. Ani Difranco is one of my favorites, and I disagree with a lot of what she says, but she says it with passion and intelligence, so I listen, and I respect it.

They are pretty big in Oz but personally i think they are overrated plus there are better bands in Australia that dont get half the publicity that they do.

thanks for the review, went with my daughter to see them a few years back, like the music for what it is as entertainment. I've always said, got somethig to say...write a song...if you're a musician. Don't really dig lots of talkin' at a show, even if I happen to agree wit whatever they are saying...or not.

Laterz

Actually, one of my favourites. I found them much the same way you did -caught a performance on a music video show (Take from Three), bought the album and was blown away by his playing. Each album has shown growth and I think his latest (Grand National) is actually his best. Personally, I wouldn't describe him as an extreme leftist, though I can understand how he'd rub some people the wrong way. At very least, he is a popular artist with some substance, as opposed to the bland, inane, pointless majority of 'popular' music.

Right on! Good to see another fan here.



Now that we can post vids here, this is them doing "Come Together."

Dont mind there music it's ok. I actually know a lot of ppl who like them. I respect John as a guitarist he is pretty good, thats the only thing that holds my attention.

Saw these guys again tonight. They killed it, as always. They opened for G. Love and Special Sauce tonight, which was surprising. But G. Love is huge around here so it was probably a smart move and will gain him even more fans.

Tristan Prettyman opened the show, but we missed her set. Sucks, too. I saw her open for JBT a few years back and she was great. Then, it was just her and her guitar, but I guess she had a full band tonight. Wish I saw it.

Anyway, despite G. Love being the headliner, the place was packed for JBT. Another 2,000 to 3,000 plus crowd. The place was an outdoor ampitheater with a roof, so the sound always suffers there. But it was still a killer show. A bit short, at just an hour, but awesome. And they played a new tune called "Satisfy." I thought it was a funky version of "Come Together" at first because the bass line is nearly identical (they cover this song from time to time). Great tune, though, even if it does share a very well-known bass line. And John played an electric guitar, which is different. Gave the band a heavier sound.



These guys put on such an amazing show.