102. BETTER THAN EZRA, 6/14/09

Location: Variety Playhouse, Atlanta
Supporting Act(s): Tyrone Wells, Marianne Keith
In the Company of: Chris, Joby S., Susan S.

Describing a tour as “reunion” or “comeback” is painfully overused these days. Many bands never leave, but are just not heard from for long stretches of time. For New Orleans’ Better Than Ezra, this is the case.

The quintet never really left the scene, but the average music listener may not be aware of that. BTE have consistently released records since their initial fan-fave album “Deluxe” in 1994. From that album was the irrepressible “Good” (“Well maybe I’ll call or write you a letter / Now maybe we’ll see on the Fourth of July / But I’m not too sure, and I’m not too proud / Well I’m not too sure and I’m not too proud to say uh-huh / It was good livin’ with you uh-huh…”).

Anyone having seen the band knows that it’s all about fun. Leader Kevin Griffin mixed it up with the audience as well as his band mates throughout the evening. BTE is touring in support of their new album “Paper Empire,” which offers “Absolutely Still” as it’s first single.



Among the selections were the hits (and near-hits) “Good,” “King Of New Orleans,” “Desperately Wanting,” “In The Blood,” and “Extra Ordinary.” As per tradition, the band covered several songs including the Rolling Stones’ “Miss You,” Blur’s “Song 2,” and James’ “Laid,” which is actually on their greatest hits CD and was a definite crowd pleaser (“Moved out of the house, so you moved next door / I locked you out, you cut a hole in the wall / I found you sleeping next to me, I thought I was alone / You're driving me crazy, when are you coming home”).

Marianne Keith opened the show with just her guitar. She was fresh, poppy, and talented…just what I was looking for.

Tyrone Wells was next up and impressed many a BTE fan. Wells, a California singer-songwriter, shared the same spirit of fun as the headliner and got the crowd primed for the show. You may recognize his song “More,” which is featured in the A&E series “Intervention.” Watch for him in the future.