“We are the the cops, the crooks, the cats, the blind, the geniuses. It’s time to take out your ear plugs!”
It’s funny what gets stuck in your memory. When I was in my early 20s, I drove down from upstate New York to The Village Underground in Manhattan to watch Evan Dando of the Lemonheads play a solo show. I’d spent much of my college years playing Lemonheads records on repeat, so I was fairly psyched to see him in person. And, for the record, it was a very good gig (Dando has a reputation for erratic performances.) The opening act was Ben Kweller, a New York City songwriter I’d never heard of. His debut album wasn’t out yet.* But he was already on top of his game, and I was entranced by his mastery of the whole singer-songwriter thing. Anyone can strum an acoustic guitar, blow into a harmonica, and sing, but it takes an artist to turn it into art.
Kweller joined Dando later in the evening to sing “It’s Up To You,” a song they wrote together that has never appeared on record. It’s a Dylan-y, surrealist folk song about taking the bull by the horns and getting out of your own way. I only heard it that one time, until randomly Googling it and finding a video of it on YouTube, taken from that very gig. But I remember the sugary chorus like it was yesterday. What a thrill to hear it again, all these years later. Click on the video below, if you’re so inclined. It’s up to you, of course.
* Before launching his solo career, Kweller fronted the Texas alt-rock band Radish, but I’d never heard of them either.