Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals/Scott Thomas
Entertainment Centre
Wednesday May 10

There's no getting around it: The Entertainment Centre is a big, cold concrete barn, and seemingly a strange place for someone like Ben Harper, whose organic sounds are far better suited to a place like the Thebby (where he's played on recent tours, and which is positively intimate compared to the Ent Cent). Nonetheless, Harper's live reputation precedes him, he's got a new record out and a legion of loyal fans to satisfy, so I guess having to see him in increasingly larger venues is one of the inevitable consequences of popularity.

Warm up act Scott Thomas played a short set that was well-received by a small but enthusiastic crowd. Thomas handled the lack of intimacy well, especially given he'd only had 24 hours notice that he'd be tagging along. Harper and his stalwart backing band, meanwhile, seemed to continue from where they left off last time they were in town. You know what you're gonna get with Ben Harper, and while for many artists the suggestion of predictability would be a criticism, in this context it means that the guy always delivers. As on previous tours, the prodigious 3 hour set visited both aspects of Harper's persona - the sensitive singer/songwriter and the blues-based rock doggie - with Harper rolling through much of the new double album 'Both Sides Of The Gun', and a fair swag of his older material. All of it was beautifully delivered, with typical heart and joy. Fittingly, he signed off with the uplifting, optimistic Better Way, ensuring that the fans went home more than satisfied.

I'm one of those people whose interest in Harper's music is more academic than anything else, yet somehow I've fallen into seeing him three times now, and each gig I leave knowing I saw something special. Harper's way with a guitar, be it acoustic or electric, his increasingly five-star back catalogue, and above all his humanity, is worth checking out. Tonight was no exception.

Peter Strelan