On a muggy August night, the Australian guitarist and his bandmates wowed a sold-out crowd with genre-melding, instrumental magic. (Review, photo gallery)
It can be hard to pinpoint an artist’s genre without boxing them into a corner.
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The John Butler Trio doesn’t even try describing its own music.
“Thank you coming for along the ride because we’re a band who doesn’t actually know what kind of music we play,” lead singer John Butler joked Sunday during the band’s third visit to Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. Heck, Dolly Parton, Black Sabbath, A Tribe Called Quest, Johnny Cash, Bluegrass, Celtic music and Slayer are just a few of the trio’s influences, according to Butler.
The Australian frontman and his jam band drew yet another sold-out crowd on a cloudy, muggy night which kicked off with a set by folk-rock artist J.S. Ondara.
Excited fans wasted no time getting warmed up. They danced to the trio’s blazing string apparatus and Butler’s sometimes quick, rhythmic, almost hip-hop like singing — and they didn’t lose focus when the trio’s solos out-shined any singing.
But for all the lyrics some of his tunes lacked, Butler instead offered the crowd his staggering and intricate guitar-playing, switching between an acoustic and electric guitar or his banjo.
The trio shared crowd favorites like “Used To Get High For A Living” and, of course, “Ocean,” in which Butler’s extraordinary instrumentation was once again revealed.
It was the fifth concert in a week at Meijer Gardens, with Railroad Earth and Twiddle performing at 6:30 tonight (Monday). Tickets, details available online here. Photo galleries, reviews of other Meijer Gardens shows online here.
PHOTO GALLERY: John Butler Trio at Meijer Gardens
Photos by Derek Ketchum