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While much ado is being made of his mode of transport (City Paper, Post and Courier), the most important aspect of Ben Sollee's return to Charleston is his performance at the Pour House, Tuesday, December 8, 7 p.m. (Buy Tickets).
If you don't know Ben's music by name, you may recognize his song, A Few Honest Words, from the Obama campaign, or How to See the Sunrise from the Season 4 Weeds episode where Nancy and Esteban finally get down.
I was introduced to Ben's music during his last trip to the Pour House earlier this year (Februrary), where he sat on stage alone, usually at the cello, singing and playing into a single mic. I was astounded at the breadth and funkiness of his sound with so little instrumentation.
After bringing home his CD, Learning to Bend, I was even more surprised at how inferior the multi-instrument recordings are to his live show. The raw power of his cello covering both bass line and solo is diluted by saxiphone, harp, and others on different tracks.
The only way to properly experience Ben's music is live, and we are blessed to have him here twice in a year.