At the time, it seemed almost blasphemous for this Texan to catch his first Ben Kweller experience outside of the Lone Star state - California, to be exact. Nothing was wrong with that show. In fact, it was brilliant. But Kweller is a Texan boy through and through, it just seems more to catch him where he's home. Proving that right is the set he delivered Saturday night. Coming on to stage as if he'd been battling the heat all day, Kweller greeted the crowd warmly in a loose, sleeveless shirt and already sweatied hair. The considerable country twang of his last album had placed some cowboy hats in the audience, and the stetsons, alongside their more urban coutnerparts, cheered him back. Couple all this with the fact that this practically open air venue is little more than wood beams and a hot, tin roof, the only thing that kept me from thinking I was watching all this from the speck of a Texas town Kweller came from was the lack of straw strewn about on the floor. No - I had the cigarette buts on the floor and the smell of weed in the air to remind me I was in Austin.

Regardless, Austin's still in Texas, and I'll say it again - Texas is where Kweller plays best. Playing to a set list that would appeal to any fan, Kweller played a perfect mix that touched base throughout his entire discography and serenaded us with songs from Sha Sha all the way to his latest, Changing Horses. Obviously, even all that wasn't enough, and an encore called Kweller back to humbly return to his guitar and lay down more tracks. In a grand finale, Kweller called back his band as well as the openers, The Murdocks and Jones Street Station, to a riled up rendition of "Fight." Kweller's set to play a few more dates - make sure you don't miss them!

Labels: Emo's, Retrospective