I know a lot of people are putting together lists of their favorite songs or albums of 2014. I love digging through those lists and finding stuff I may have missed or things to judge (mostly kidding). Instead of doing that, I decided to share a few music related things that made an impression on me this year.
Photos courtesy of Daniel Jackson.
I ran across Benjamin Booker sometime early in the year and was immediately floored by his voice. It’s the kind of voice that’s rough, drives a motorcycle and you probably wouldn’t let date your daughter. I listened to the two songs he’d released at that point, and KNEW something was going on with this young guy out of New Orleans. Booker’s song “Violent Shiver” pumped and jangled in my headphones or blasted from my car stereo speakers almost weekly. During my lunch breaks, I would watch the grainy black and white video of Booker passionately playing “Have You Seen My Son?” I believe the song is about a Mother having a difficult time letting go of her boy as he grows into a man. My Mom is always telling me that she prays for me and so I may have cried into my cold ham and cheese sandwich at some point.
By the time South By Southwest came around in March, there was no way in heck I wasn’t going to catch at least one of his sets during the week. The Southern bent clothing designer Billy Reid always throws some of the best day parties during the madness in Austin (pro tip) and Booker was on a strong lineup that included Hurray For The Riff Raff, Shakey Graves, The Felice Brothers, J. Roddy Walston & The Business and many more. The short SXSW set gave me the kind of goosebumps you get when a pretty girl in a Descendents shirt kisses your ear. Fast forward to August…Booker had toured heavily, released an exceptional full length album, picked up a bass player and was scheduled to play one of my favorite fests, FYFFest in Los Angeles. While approaching the stage to catch the set, I noticed a fan showing his friend a handful of photographs. I’m assuming they were of a past performance because he handed them to a security guy who in turn gave them to Booker. When Benjamin opened the envelope he jumped down off stage and thanked the fan with a handshake (a super great thing to do) In one fluid motion, Booker leapt back on stage and ripped into one of the best sets of the weekend.
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Hey Music!!
Live at KDHX
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Find Benjamin Booker all over the Internet
http://www.benjaminbookermusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/benjaminbookerNOLA
https://twitter.com/bbookerNOLA