Ben Harper and Donavon Frankenreiter in Rio (Claro Hall - Jan 25th, 2007)

i have to bear witness to the transcendent event i took part in last night, when i saw Ben Harper and Donavon Frankenreiter play in Rio. yes, i've been a somewhat distant admirer of Ben since "Excuse me Mr.", i got the album “Diamonds On The Inside”, i was thrilled when he sang with Pearl Jam at the Madson Square Garden in 2003 (PJ's "Indifference" and "With my own two hands" as a tag for PJ's Daughter), i was aware that my favorite song was "She's only happy in the Sun". also i think "Free" is a nice song. ok. but nothing could have prepared me for what i was about to experience.

Donavon played first and i was blown away; the man goes way beyond "Free": an amazing blues/soulman, great guitar player, beautiful voice. and a kind of gentleness, of modesty, like he felt a little awkward for being literally acclaimed by the crowd, like "you know, man, that's just these things i play". i don't know, that's what i felt. i became an instant fan. one hour was not enough.

worthy of note was the performance of guests, two members of a famous brazilian rock band, Kid Abelha: Paula Toller (vocals) and George Israel (sax).

when Ben came on stage, the first thing that struck me was his seriousness. what could be perceived at first as some lack of interaction with the crowd, later on revealed itself as a profound respect for the music and this genuine spiritual way of addressing a song, like each one of them was something sacred. for about three hours, give and take, Ben and the Innocent Criminals just pushed the boundaries of what is considered a "jam". the man is really a monster of the slide. every song comes from somewhere deep inside of him, he sings with his body, his heart and soul.

the show ended and nobody in the audience left. after what seemed too long, Ben came back for the encore. he played two accoustics, just him and the guitar, this halo of light around him. 8000 people singing along. really, no-one wanted to leave. the band came back and all of a sudden Ben was literally preaching to the crowd! he left the mic, went to the edge of the stage and with only the power of his voice he sang. the band playing really low. the crowd willing to scream and he asking for silence. and he kept singing. i can tell, the man had the Holy Spirit in him. unbelievable.

the highlights were "Get up, Stand up", with a brazilian flag on the back wall of the stage and "Diamonds on the inside", with Donavon singing together.

after that, the band remained on stage and Ben said some words of thank you. i could tell that the experience had been as intense for him as it had been for me. he said sorry for not speaking our language, said that he would try to express how grateful he was. he said "you're the soul of the soul". he was amazed by the way "we played so many different things and you just went along", his hand moving like a wave. then they all held a brazilian flag together.

they were really happy. the bass player was the happiest, because people just loved him, his playing and his beautiful voice, and they kept calling him "Tim Maia", a famous and really missed brazilian musician.

i was in awe last night and have been in this state of joy ever since. i feel like i had one of those rare moments when you realise you just took one step ahead into becoming yourself. and for that i'm forever grateful.

land of the blind (by deav)
Rio, Jan 2007


if you think you're safe
up your ivory tower
know there’s a greater power
locks won’t keep them out

if your feet is on the ground
you go on the simple way
take a good look around
that won’t keep them out

by or against the law
steel walls turned to straw
they’ll get your head down anyway

reason is just no use
you think you got nothing to lose
they’ll rape your women anyway

if you live by your belief
go on the righteous way
you just can’t keep your peace
faith won’t keep them out

if you fight to make a change
take justice in your hands
beware that in the end
you don’t become “them”

hero or heavy hand
no matter which side you stand
they’ll kill your children anyway

ideas misguided as flags
another turn of the hourglass
they’ll burn your poets anyway…


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