Concert Review: Harpering on a Subject

If guitars were dresses then folk singer Ben Harper would be a diva. They're not. But Harper is still one of the most evocative and poignant vocalists alive today. Changing guitars from Weissenborn to Martin and back again during last Tuesday's concert at the Avalon, Harper has enough talent to quench any false belief that the parade of over ten exotically-shaped stringed instruments was proffered as compensation or distraction for lackluster performance ability.

What is even more amazing is the diverse following that Harper has garnered in the last years, and this is indeed representative of his personality--a jack of all trades with all the early indications of a potential master in the making. But this is not to say that the road is unwinding. On his fourth and newest album Burn to Shine, Harper seems to have suffered a belated sophomore slump. In his defense, the standard that he is judged by is a difficult one to uphold. Harper unabashedly admits that he is deeply influenced by the holy Trinity of popular music--Dylan, Marley and Hendrix. No one is expecting him to be the next folk, reggae or guitar God, but Harper does appear to have a refined musical sense. This alone holds him to some level of expectation.

Slight criticisms of his new album aside, Harper's live performance evoked maturity beyond even the best of his recordings. The concert began with a tried and true favorite--"Gold to Me." It is hard not to be charmed by Harper's singing. He makes every breath count, every word becomes signified. If we could hear the sound of a diamond in the rough, that would be Harper's voice, so close to perfection that the imperfections hardly seem to matter and conversely add character and integrity. But this is not to say that Harper's voice is reminiscent of the feline mewls of Dylan. When his voice breaks, we don't cringe, we rather cheer for more. Indeed a more apt comparison would be the late reggae master Bob Marley, to whom Harper paid homage with a stirring rendition of "Oppression" mingled with Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up."

Although the event was punctuated with songs from his previous albums, including the rarely performed "Whipping Boy," a little less than half was dedicated to material from Burn to Shine. The most promising song from the new album is without a doubt "The Woman in You." With sparse riffs suggestive of Hendrix's "Castles Made of Sand," the song is both a musical and lyrical delight. Here the brilliant Hendrix lyrics "and so castles made of sand fall into the sea...eventually" become equally brilliant as Harper sings in perpetual falsetto--"the woman in you is the worry in me." The night ended with consummate tribute: Hendrix's "Manic Depression."

Owning one Ben Harper album will inevitably cause the ownership of his whole repertoire. It's one of those ethical imperatives. Harper is one artist who truly deserves every ounce of success he has awaiting him. However, at times, this end is wished for so much that we forget to confer patience upon this artist who is diligently working towards finding his own identity. But stumble or fall, I don't doubt that Harper will eventually succeed.