Friday’s sold-out show at Meijer Gardens unfolded as a triumphant, eye-popping return for the rock trio which first played the amphitheater in 2013. (Review, photo gallery)
By John Sinkevics
LocalSpins.com
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When the John Butler Trio made its first-ever appearance last summer at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, some fans got so exuberant, so carried away by what they were experiencing that they jumped on stage only to be escorted off by security guards.
It seemed like a feverishly spontaneous moment from West Michigan concertgoers – and security personnel – who didn’t really know what to expect from this dynamic, Australian-bred jam band.
Well, the word got out this year, because not only did Friday night’s show sell out, but the audience seemed even more in tune – physically, spiritually and emotionally – with Butler’s dazzling guitar and banjo virtuosity, more than ably propelled by bassist Byron Luiters and drummer Grant Gerathy.
OK, folks didn’t clamber up onto the stage at the end of the night to get closer to their heroes this time around. But a much larger contingent of concertgoers certainly got caught up in the infectious spirit of the JBT experience.
As Butler put it late in the show: “It’s getting darker. It’s gonna get freaky.”
In some ways, it did. This show had more folks dancing more often and reveling in nearly every minute of the 2-hour-and-12-minute performance, from the blues-filtered rock of the opening “Cold Wind” to the rambunctious boogie of the ZZ Top-like encore-closer, “Funky Tonight” – the same song that ended the trio’s Meijer Gardens show last year because, Butler said, “It just works.”
BLURRING THE LINES BETWEEN GENRES IN AN INFECTIOUS WAY
Actually, everything worked on Friday (“Used to Get High,” “Don’t Wanna See Your Face No More,” “Better Than,” “Blame it on Me,” “Devil Woman”) for Butler and his bandmates as they kicked up their musical heels with an oddly disparate yet wholly engaging set, expertly blurring the lines between blues, country, dreamy psychedelic rock, funk, alt-rock, bluegrass, reggae and all manner of acoustic wizardry.
Butler is an absolute master at squeezing electric-rock bluster out of a 12-string acoustic guitar, though he also proved his mettle on banjo and electric guitar throughout the evening. He’ll do it again with his bandmates tonight in Chicago, playing the much-hyped Lollapalooza music fest.
Butler proved on Friday he’s every bit as tasteful as iconic guitarists Pat Metheny and Bill Kirchen who played Grand Rapids earlier in the week, though he operates at higher volume with considerably more gusto. Like a sponge, this 39-year-old guitarist has soaked up the styles and techniques of so many influential guitarists, then wrings it all out in glorious fashion on stage.
And speaking of masterful bluster and acoustic guitar fury, Butler once again wowed the amphitheater crowd with his now-fabled solo rendition of “Ocean,” which as he pointed out, has morphed into something different over the years. “As I change, it changes,” he said by way of introduction.
Dyed-in-the-wool JBT fans, of course, knew what was coming, with dozens of them holding smartphones and video cameras aloft to capture the latest variation of the song, filled with eye-popping, lightning quick finger work and impassioned strumming. They may have preserved the solo for posterity, but those videos will never replicate the electric atmosphere of the communal, celebratory moment.
ENGAGING BANTER WITH HIS ‘FAMILY’ OF FANS
That’s partly because Butler is an engaging, likable fellow who compliments his “amazing audience,” jokes about the aloofness of felines (“Sorry about the cat rant”) and chats with conviction about peace and honoring Native Americans.
More than once, he gave a deserved shout-out to opening act Jake Vroon, a Forest Hills Northern High School grad who’s attending Belmont University in Nashville and currently working as a summer intern at Meijer Gardens. The talented singer-songwriter opened with a half-hour solo set of his thoughtful tunes, earning a warm ovation from the hometown crowd.
During his 2013 appearance, Butler raved about the affectionate amphitheater crowd, likening it a “long-lost family.” He reiterated that on Friday night, thanking and acknowledging his “family” of fans, new and old. Considering the intimate connections he makes with his audiences, it’s also no surprise that he titled his new album, “Flesh & Blood.”
Butler’s reunion with about 1,900 of his West Michigan “relatives” came off as an upbeat family affair, like a wedding party that most attendees just don’t want to see end.
This one did, of course, with the final note of the boisterous “Funky Tonight” played precisely at the 9:45 p.m. Meijer Gardens curfew.
I’m guessing most fans would have paid a little extra to push that curfew back another 10 or 15 minutes.
Make that 20.
JOHN BUTLER TRIO, JAKE VROON: THE LOCAL SPINS PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Anna Sink
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Email John Sinkevics at john@localspins.com.
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