Ben Harper has had quite a year.
After the Zooma Tour – a sort of Bonnaroo on wheels held in pavilions across the country – was canceled at the beginning of last summer, Harper hastily scheduled a slew of summer dates at smaller club venues.
This time, Ben chose to go back to much larger pavilion shows in support of his most recent album, Both Sides of the Gun, released in March.
The album was in two parts. One is an acoustic disc that highlighted Harper’s songwriting. The other is an upbeat romp featuring longtime backing band The Innocent Criminals, highlighted by the heavily political “Black Rain” – a song about Hurricane Katrina.
Gun has been absorbed into Harper’s ever-expanding catalogue of live material, with a nice sprinkling of covers providing the occasional set surprise.
Tour opener Damian “Junior Gong” Marley dabbles in performing covers with the band, even joining Harper’s crew for a rendition of his father’s anthem, “Get Up, Stand Up.”
The diverse musical backgrounds of the Innocent Criminals give Harper a lot of room for improvisation in the live setting.
In addition to the Bob Marley cover, Harper has pulled out old tour staples such as Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” and Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” as an occasional change of pace.
While some longtime Harper fans have knocked him for abandoning his traditional seated position at the head of the stage, and for occasionally strapping on a more standard electric guitar, it’s still a great set from some fantastic musicians.
Don’t exit when they leave the stage for the first time; Harper is usually good for a pair of encore appearances – saving some of the most fan-pleasing material for then.
Marley rode his breakout hit “Welcome to Jamrock” to six wins at the International Reggae and World Music Awards, so expect to hear most of the reggaeton star’s third album of the same name.
Check out Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals this Sunday at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and tickets start at $25.
-By Tripp Laino
