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Brett Dennen took the stage at 9pm with his backing band comprised of a bass player, drummer, and Freund on acoustic rhythm and lead guitar. Dennen was noticeably more comfortable with his role as frontman and lead vocalist.
Dennen is quite tall, with red hair and fair skin. His countenance is youthful, yet his songs are strikingly on par with a middle-aged Paul Simon discovering the penetrating rhythm of African music. Indeed, Dennen's fingerstyle acoustic guitar playing is rhythmic and clearly influenced by Paul Simon's international explorations. However, while Simon can sometimes become too heavy with his political/philosophical statements, Dennen's infused political activism contains a hopeful lightness of being. Indeed, Dennen's vocal textures and optimistic political activism are refreshingly similar to singer/songwriter Steve Forbert (Romeo's Tune), whose live indie record Be Here Now is a rare gem.
Dennen brought the house down during his hour-long set, and the warm Nashville standing ovation grew louder and louder until Dennen stepped back onstage to perform two encores—one which was a charming little children's song about asking your parents for permission to "go have a party in the yard."
Dennen's live performance has the effect of freezing time and leaves the audience wanting more—exactly what any artist should want from their live performance. The line to purchase Dennen's latest CD after the show was as long as I've seen since Raul Midon's stupefying performance last year. Go see Brett Dennen on this tour if you enjoy very special moments with musicians who will continue to make an impact on the musical world for many more decades.
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