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Better Than Ezra has fun at the 9:30 Club

By JESSE SCOTT

Date published: 12/16/2004

YOUTH CORRESPONDENT

One might look back on a Better Than Ezra concert experience and think they've paid a visit to the insane asylum.

On the other hand, one might just appreciate the fat man with a cowbell, and lead singer Kevin Griffin's spastic behavior.

Regardless of what can be perceived from their live shows, there is one fact: Better Than Ezra sold out another 9:30 Club date last week.

The Louisiana band's set was a lot like New Orleans food--spicy and satisfying at the same time. The band filled an extensive playlist with a buffet of hits, including "Desperately Wanting," "Good" and "Extraordinary."

Preparing the Ezralites for their next album (which is set to be released in March 2005), the band played "Daylight," a new song that stuck to BTE's tangy, melodic sound.

In addition, they did a tantalizing, unplugged rendition of "Blister in the Sun" and a humorous version of "Feliz Navidad."

It's not just Better Than Ezra's unique music that helps them pay their expensive New Orleans home mortgages. The players' stage presence sets them apart from nearly all the bands you'll ever see.

They have fun up there. Not a lame, fake-sappy fun. But genuine fun--the kind that keeps fans wanting more of the band they've grown to love.

The band kept the Christmas theme alive throughout the evening. At one point, Griffin chuckled, "You D.C. people are a little nuttykind of like the fruitcake that you actually want to get for Christmas."

And he kept bringing up some "Christmas Grappler" character. No one had any idea what the "Christmas Grappler" was until Griffin introduced him during "In the Blood" at the end of the show.

Sure enough, the "Christmas Grappler" was a 200-plus-pound masked man with his shirt lifted up, dancing around the stage banging a cowbell to the beat of the song.

And of course, Griffin, bassist Tom Drummond and drummer Travis McNabb all were laughing heavily as they played their respective instruments.

That, in a nutshell, is a Better Than Ezra live show.

You never know what to expect, but you can always expect something great, and to have a great time.

JESSE SCOTT is a freshman at George Mason University.

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Date published: 12/16/2004