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I was at a friends apartment listening to this music for about 45 minutes until I finally asked who they were... Grant Lee Buffalo... who... Grant Lee Buffalo... do you want to borrow it. Well that was about a year and a half ago and I still haven't stopped listening to Mighty Joe Moon-their second album. I can best describe it is as a hybrid of Husker Du and Cowboy Junkies and REM and yet not like any of them - very unique.
They toured with REM last year but I just can't do those stadium shows. So this is the first time I recall them playing a small local club since my awareness. Tramps is one of those place with horrible acoustics and really bad sight lines but if you happen to get there early enough or the group just is not that well known you can position yourself for a rather enjoyable experience.
Grant Lee Phillips, lead singer/guitar, a really cute, stocky guy with messy hair, just bursts on stage with a playful sorta boyish energy you rarely see nowadays. His between song banter is truly funny. Grant is a raw performer. He takes control and begins a ride for a good two hours of real rock and roll. This is what live music should be. His vocals drive the show and he just never seems to want to stop.
The entire band really likes what they are doing. This is rock. Their interactions and attentiveness to each other show that after three albums the band is incredibly tight and they know each other.
The show consisted largely of their two most recent albums: Mighty Joe Moon and Copperopolis. The dynamic range from song to song and within each song controls the audience-from soft ballads to hard edge hard core make for an evening of dancing, swaying, and just sitting back listening. They are a group not to be missed. It was clearly the best $12 I've spent on a concert in quite some time.
©2004 CB Cooke - | - http://www.cbcooke.com/ - | - http://www.glyphmedia.com/host/darklight/