Ben Lee

Where: The Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, WA
When: March 30, 2005
Who: Ben Lee with Har Mar Superstar and Zykos

Wednesday night’s show at the Crocodile was a bit surreal for this lifelong Ben Lee fan. The last time I had seen Ben headline a show at the Croc he played to maybe 100 devotees, introducing a batch of new songs that would become his 5th album, Awake Is the New Sleep.

Sure, it was a tour between albums, but the crowd then was like most of the Ben Lee shows I have attended over the years: knowledgeable fans who knew Ben as something more than “Claire Danes’ rocker boyfriend.” That’s about all people seemed to know of Ben. He got little mainstream press or radio airplay, and his constantly evolving musical style (befitting an artist who recorded his first (solo) album at age 15.

On the pseudo-title track of his new album (the quietly inspirational “Whatever It Is”), Ben urges his audience to “wake up” because “awake is the new sleep.” Apparently people are finally waking up to Ben Lee, because the tiny Crocodile was packed to capacity with Ben Lee fans and newcomers alike. Ben tirelessly visited three major rock stations–KNDD, KMTT, and KEXP–around town the day of the show, and with good reason. As Ben said himself, “Seattle gets Ben Lee.” It’s been a long time coming though: the increased fan base is a direct result of “Catch My Disease” getting on the radio–a song in which Ben sings “they don’t play me on the radio, and that’s the way I like it.”

With the stage festooned with flowers befitting the cover (and themes) of his new album, Ben was backed by a full band (a rare treat for fans outside NY/LA) and cranked out some old favorites (including “Frigid” and “My Guitar” from 95’s Grandpaw Would) along with the best of his new songs. The show was bookended by the two most uplifting (cynics might say cheesy) songs from Awake: the aforementioned “Whatever It Is” and the audience-rousing “We’re All In This Together.” In between were some surprises: “No Room To Bleed” forwent the sparseness of the album (and the typical live) version with a fuller sound; the acoustic “Naked” was, on a night filled with personal affectations, an emotional high point; and the unexpected Neil Young cover fit so well into the mood of the evening that I’m sure many thought Ben had written it.

I’ve seen Ben play with more spontaneity, but never with more joy. When friends and compatriots (including a visiting Ed Harcourt) took the stage for the big hit “Catch My Disease,” the everyone onstage and in the audience knew: we’re all in this together.

Grade: A

Setlist:
Whatever It Is
The Debt Collectors
Apple Candy
Begin
No Right Angles
Frigid
Cigarettes Will Kill You
I Am A Sunflower
Close I’ve Come
No Room To Bleed
Gamble Everything For Love
Into The Dark
My Guitar
Catch My Disease
—Encore—
Naked (from Rage in Placid Lake)
Lotta Love (Neil Young cover)
We’re All In This Together

Ben Lee Tourdates // Ben Lee and Friends on Conan