Ben Harper:
"When the music hits you, you feel no pain"

By: Dan Rosenberg

     Rather than give you a boring concert review, in which I explain the show and who played, I found something more interesting within two nights of listening to live music. It started on May 8 when I went to see O.A.R. and Ben Harper the following night. Both of these bands display a type of music that is different from the trendy mainstream sounds, but have found a place with many college students and young-adults. O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) is a rock/folk/reggae/ska band drawing influences from Paul Simon to U2. You could say they are a feel good band that gets you moving, since that was the case at the jam-packed Culture Room in Ft. Lauderdale. Ben Harper is an amazing songwriter/musician who brings a combination of Bob Marley and Marvin Gaye with the rebel of Bob Dlyan. During his show at the Pompano Beach Amphitheater you could see women doing hippy-like dances and obviously there was a favorable smell in the air.

      What I found in these two shows was distinct music for distinct people who can appreciate music that sounds more eclectic, and has more value to it; it even goes to a point where people feel that they have some sort of connection with either someone else who likes O.A.R. or Ben Harper. When I was at these shows I felt special. Special to witness these artists and musical talent; like O.A.R.'s saxophone player go into another exciting solo or watching one of Ben Harper's percussionists keep his drum going on forever. And it's these situations that you hope people forsake TRL and Top 40 for, so they might get into someone like Ben Harper. These groups go beyond the standard three minutes; they play until they're stopped, and share a very special bond with their fans. There are many other groups like Moe, The String Cheese Incident, The Dead, Dark Star Orchestra, and of course Phish, that have been apart of an underground subculture, all for the beauty of music and enjoying life. O.A.R. and Ben Harper were great shows and perfect examples of good music.

     Music to look out for: Jack Johnson, Interpool, Cursive, Thrice, Thursday, From Autumn To Ashes.

• PREVIOUS MUSIC FEATURES:
  Zwan
  Langerado Festival
  ColdPlay