Stagestruck

BEN KWELLER
@Austin City Limits, Austin, TX; July 18, 2002
The venerable public television institution Austin City Limits has brought dozens of worthy artists to the attention of audiences, artists who had no chance of play on the radio or MTV, no other outlet for which to make their presence known. But, let's face it: it's been in a rut for the past several years. With so many other options available to musicians and their record companies these days, it's become more and more difficult to get cutting-edge artists on the show. As a result, the producers have had to book too many of the same old acts that filled the stage 25 years ago. Really, how many truly unique performances are Nanci Griffith, Delbert McClinton and Asleep at the Wheel—mediocre talents to begin with—going to give? For that matter, Willie Nelson, an indisputably great American artist, has played essentially the same set nearly every time he's appeared onstage in Studio 6A—how many more times does he need to record for posterity a show that begins with "Whiskey River" and ends with "On the Road Again?" The fact that the show's bookings tend to reflect an aging audience, instead of attempting to attract a younger one, doesn't help either. There are occasional bright spots—Richard Thompson, Fastball, Billy Bragg—but overall what was once the best live music show on television has become increasingly stagnant.

Things are starting to change, however. One of season 28's earliest bookings was Alejandro Escovedo, the formidable Austin songwriter then touring with his acclaimed stage production By the Hand of the Father. Tonight, however, represented an even more radical shift away from the kind of act that might have once played the Armadillo Ballroom. 20-year-old Ben Kweller, late of Dallas grunge wannabe Radish, hit the stage of what he termed "the Limits" for a sterling set of rockin' power pop. Oddly opening with Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" (the mostly under-25 crowd clearly didn't recognize the song), Kweller and his three-piece band moved confidently through most of the tracks on his recent solo record Sha Sha, improving every single one with the kind of tightness that comes only from hard touring. "Wasted & Ready," "Commerce, TX" and "Launch Ramp" (from his introductory EP E.P. Phone Home) practically exploded with youthful energy and mature melody, with special kudos going to Kweller's lead guitarist for his Brian May-influenced solos. "Family Tree" and "Walk On Me" traded large power chords for acoustic strumming, but unfurled just as effectively. As hard as Kweller rocked, betraying not a whiff of the extreme nervousness he professed to feel, the highlight of the main set was his piano-led ballads "Falling" and especially "In Other Words," both of which are the kind of sophisticated pop songs one usually expects from talents twice his age. The band climaxed with "It's Not Fair," a perfectly bratty, irresistibly catchy slice of widescreen guitar pop. It was a smart, satisfying set that fully deserved its standing ovation.

Kweller returned for the inevitable encore to play, as he promised before the last song of the main set, a sensitive solo acoustic number followed by a full-blown rock song. "Lizzy," a bluesy tune about "my woman," was tender, touching and lovely, the kind of love song every girlfriend wishes was written for her. The band returned for "No Reason," stretching out this simple pop song into a virtual tribute to rock excess, dueling guitar solos and all—the perfect way to close out the evening. One more standing ovation later, the show was done.

Prior to Kweller's performance, producer/host Terry Lickona referred to the young songwriter as "the future of Austin City Limits." Between that statement and the unqualified success of this performance, the future of ACL does indeed look brighter than it has in years. Michael Toland

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