Tuesday night I was fortunate enough to catch Brett Dennen play in Northampton, MA (thanks John!). You my have read my blurb about his sophomore album, So Much More, back in October of last year. If not, check it out now.

Opening for Brett on this particular evening was Sara Bareilles, a singer I wasn't familiar with before this night. She played a fairly short (40 minutes) but full set and what impressed me the most about her was her voice: loud enough to fill the room, but retaining its clarity and beauty. All too often female vocalist's voices get overrun by the music which is supposedly providing harmonious support for them; this was not the case with Sara.

Just as I had been surprised by Brett's cherubic face in all of the pictures I had seen of him, his stage presence impressed me this evening as well. I had expected a youthful entertainer taking center stage with strong musical presentation but some first date awkwardness between. Just as I found a worldly wisdom in his music, so too did I find it in Brett's give and take with the crowd. He clearly felt comfortable and at home with all eyes on him, and his bluesy folkish soul was only made more clear in person. The evening's setlist highlighted tracks from his latest release (Ain't No Reason, Darlin' Do Not Fear, and So Long Sweet Misery - which he opened with), but also included some older tunes from his self-titled debut (he ended the evening with Desert Sunrise).


Brett Dennen - Desert Sunrise : Brett Dennen


Brett Dennen - Darlin' Do Not Fear (live) : Live from the Canal Room (studio version on So Much More)