Kweller, Ben

I don't remember when my family first discovered Ben Kweller, but we've all (three sons, wife and I) been fans for years. I think it was probably after we saw him on ACL (recorded July 18, 2002) that we picked up "Sha Sha", his debut after leaving the Radishes. We danced around the house and "beatlesque" and playful were used to describe his musicality and melodies. There aren't any tunes more fun than "Commerce, TX" and "Wasted and Ready". Ben's drifted musically a little over the years, nothing more unexpected than the country twinged "Changing Horses" released in 2009 with it's pedal steel and dobro. Whenever Ben cuts a new album, it is our music of choice for weeks. Even though Ben has lived in Austin for years, I'm embarassed to admit that I've never seen him live. So when I saw that he was performing at the Convention Center during a public radio showcase of artists on the Radio Day Stage on Friday, March 16 - I was there. The tunes, all from his new album "Go Fly a Kite" had the same playfulness and rocking melodies that first hooked us in 2002.