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Better Than Ezra 'sublime' in ChiTown |
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Written by and photos by JULIE MOSSLER
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Friday, 17 June 2005 |
Sub?lime – adj – So awe-inspiring as to seem almost surreal. The chances to use the word 'sublime' are few and far between, yet for a sold-out crowd of both familiar and new faces at the House of Blues, Better Than Ezra played a 1,000-watt performance that could only be described as exactly that.
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Better Than Ezra
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 Entertainment
 Art
Metro
Chicago, Ill.
June 17, 2005 |
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BTE set off the show with "Burned," an upbeat track from the band's new album, "Before The Robots," which led into the 10-year-old single most people remember the band for, "Good." Ezralites were grateful to see the song played so early in the set; not only does it add to the show's momentum, but it gets the fans out of the way who only came for some nostalgia from seventh grade.
It was a great mix of new and old songs from BTE's catalog; concert favorites like "At the Stars" were coupled with "Robots'" tracks like "Hollow." One of the best things about seeing the band live is getting what wasn't expected to be there; I never leave a show without the discovery of a hidden melody or a new 'favorite' stuck in my head. As a group that has spent the majority of its career touring, there's a song on each BTE album that begs to be performed live but loses its appeal via CD. Most recently it's "Overcome" or "Juicy"…but anyone who attended the HOB Chicago concert would have to agree that the closer, 'Overcome,' wasn't a song, but an experience, and absolutely stole the show. It's this kind of innovation and overdelivery that keep fans coming back for more.
As an Ezralite, I hold the band to incredibly high standards. That being said, this concert was easily in the top two of the 12 that I've attended throughout their career. Kevin, Tom, and Travis are still as much about fun as they are about music – I would give my left arm to see them do the "Cowbell" skit again from "Saturday Night Live" – but the guys are performing at the top of their prime. With a new, more electric album to play, they're noticeably rejuvenated and playing solidly on every single song, with the heart of a band that just got its first gig.
There's a moment we concert junkies live for – a brief second when the singing pauses, the instruments lull, and it feels like the entire room is breathing with a single pair of lungs. For a room of 3,000 people, it's remarkably quiet…when out of nowhere comes a chill-inducing explosion that is the collision of drums and a guitar riff, the singer's voice, and the roar of fans that join in perfectly on cue. For me, it happened during "Our Last Night." I looked behind me at rows of faces that hung on every word, singing in time. Sublime, indeed. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
