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By Lindsey Keen
John Butler Trio :: 09.21.05 :: The Mercy Lounge :: Nashville, TN
John Butler by Susan J. Weiand |
Call the zoo - a "Zebra" is loose in Nashville. John Butler Trio, which features lead vocalist John Butler on acoustic guitar and lap steel, upright bassist Shannon Birchall, and daring drummer Michael Barker, slowly walked out onto the small pine wood stage at Nashville's hippest venue, The Mercy Lounge. The sold-out smoky crowd cheered with anticipation. Butler and his band kicked off their shoes and began to play "Attitude" in a barefoot manner.
Take a look in the mirror say now what do you see?
You are just, you are just like me
And I'm easy going.
What a way to start the night?
Butler, who began his career as a street busker in Western Australia, is a long-nailed 12-string guitar pickin', peace lovin' hippie. His music is a combination of Appalachian folk and gritty soulful blues, but his lyrics are more hip-hop and funk. Twist all of that together into a ball of sound, and you will be dancing continually until the end of the show.
Throughout the evening, Butler played complex fast finger-picking songs like "Treat Yo Mama," "Ocean," and "Peaches & Cream" - a song that Butler wrote just after the birth of his first child, Banjo. The hot mob of fans sang along to the U.S. radio hits "Zebra" and "Company Sin." But just before the encore, the John Butler Trio played "Better Man" - a song he wrote for his wife, Danielle. "We fell in love and travel the world together with our baby," says Butler. "And this song is all about that journey."
They've become an energetic jam band phenomenon, sold platinum albums in their homeland, and are about to wrap up a U.S. tour and head back home. Catch them if you can.
JamBase | Nashville
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