Ben Harper vs. KOL

LukinFan

Well, last week I had the chance to see two really good shows, but because I had to travel a few hours to see either one, and because of lack of funds, I could only pick one to go to- either Kings of Leon in Orlando, FL, on Halloween or Ben Harper in Jacksonville on 11-2. I decided to go with kOL and I think that I made the right choice. The show rocked and I had a great time.

What would you had picked?

Edit: I saw Ben open up for PJ at my first PJ show back in '96, but I had never seen KOL before.

DaytimeDilemma

Ben Harper. Because he doesn't suck.

LukinFan

DaytimeDilemma wrote:

Ben Harper. Because he doesn't suck.

You think KOL suck? They put on a hell of a show.

DaytimeDilemma

LukinFan wrote:

You think KOL suck? They put on a hell of a show.

Yes. And I've seen them live twice. Even Eddie with them at Lollapalooza couldn't grab my interest. I don't understand their comparisons to the Pixies. At least the Pixies were smart and wrote memorable songs. Sure they have a cool bassline or nifty guitar riff, but their songs just don't stick with me.

meme

I saw them both in the same week.

Ben was beautiful, KOL was a lot of fun.
They would be in my top 5-10 acts to see again, so I hope I don't have to choose. If forced, I may go for KOL.

intodeep

It sounds like you are happy with your choice so that is all that matters. Plus you have seen BH before so you were going to experience the unknown so that is cool.

I personally would have seen Ben Harper. I'm not a fan of KOL and yes i've seen them live i saw them play a small club a couple years ago with the secret machines opening. No i did not think their show was all that great and i was one person back from the stage. I just can't stand the singer. I think their lyrics can be a bit lacking sometiems too. I just don't like the band.

i do like ben harper though

Claudia

KOl

DaytimeDilemma

intodeep wrote:

I'm not a fan of KOL and yes i've seen them live i saw them play a small club a couple years ago with the secret machines opening.

I'd expect Secret Machines to blow them out of the water. SM rock.

soulsinging

i think so. ben harper has lost his appeal to me for some reason. i've not been excited by his music in a while. and kings of leon were much better than ben at lollapalooza.

adam42381

I'd go with KOL here. I saw them in 2005 at Ziggy's in Winston-Salem with an all-girl band, The Like, opening (they were pretty good too). Kings of Leon blew me away. I was already a fan of Youth and Young Manhood (my favorite album of theirs) and Aha Shake Heartbreak. Now that they're touring behind Because of the Times I'd like to see them again. I'm not knocking Ben Harper in any way, he just has never grabbed me. I should really give all his stuff a shot since I've never really listened to more than a handful of his songs. That being said, I think you made the right choice and it seems that you think you did as well.

mulva9

Was Black Rebel Motorcycle Club opening at the show?

For me Ben Harper > KOL

BUT....

BRMC + KOL > Ben Harper

Trailer

This thread should be deleted based entirely on the fact that you are even mentioning the horseshit that is KOL in the same post as the god that is Ben Harper!

soulsinging

Trailer wrote:

This thread should be deleted based entirely on the fact that you are even mentioning the horseshit that is KOL in the same post as the god that is Ben Harper!

ben's career has become so mediocre and pedestrian he is a pale shadow of his former greatness. he's one more lame wanna be acoustic reggae tune from jack johnson.

intodeep

DaytimeDilemma wrote:

I'd expect Secret Machines to blow them out of the water. SM rock.

Yeah they did. I like SM a lot espcially live.

Trailer

soulsinging wrote:

ben's career has become so mediocre and pedestrian he is a pale shadow of his former greatness. he's one more lame wanna be acoustic reggae tune from jack johnson.

I'm going to have to disagree with you, I like his new stuff. I'll admit the acoustic material on Both Sides was kind of lame, but the electric disc kicked ass! I also think his new album, while very mellow, has an original feel to it and really showcases his vocal ability. but since you've said some funny shit about relationships in the AET and made me laugh, I'll let the last comment about Ben turning into Jack slide

LukinFan

mulva9 wrote:

Was Black Rebel Motorcycle Club opening at the show?

For me Ben Harper > KOL

BUT....

BRMC + KOL > Ben Harper

Yes, they did. It was a great show all around.

soulsinging

Trailer wrote:

I'm going to have to disagree with you, I like his new stuff. I'll admit the acoustic material on Both Sides was kind of lame, but the electric disc kicked ass! I also think his new album, while very mellow, has an original feel to it and really showcases his vocal ability. but since you've said some funny shit about relationships in the AET and made me laugh, I'll let the last comment about Ben turning into Jack slide

i'll call truce then. i wanna like ben, but i just find myself consistently disappointed by his albums... they're always too uneven for me.

dharma69

LukinFan wrote:

Well, last week I had the chance to see two really good shows, but because I had to travel a few hours to see either one, and because of lack of funds, I could only pick one to go to- either Kings of Leon in Orlando, FL, on Halloween or Ben Harper in Jacksonville on 11-2. I decided to go with kOL and I think that I made the right choice. The show rocked and I had a great time.

What would you had picked?

Edit: I saw Ben open up for PJ at my first PJ show back in '96, but I had never seen KOL before.

KOL all the way. Ben's okay but I have to be in the mood for his groove. I'm always in the mood for the raucous rock of KOL. Followill's voice is an instrument unto itself and they're finally coming into they're own and acting like they belong on the stages that they stand on.

And "Arizona" live just owns me.

hippiemom

soulsinging wrote:

i'll call truce then. i wanna like ben, but i just find myself consistently disappointed by his albums... they're always too uneven for me.

To tell you the truth, his albums are a little uneven for me too .... but live, he NEVER disappoints!

fragileblake

I made the mistake of seeing them at bumbershoot - dullest hour of my life hands down.

DaytimeDilemma wrote:

Yes. And I've seen them live twice. Even Eddie with them at Lollapalooza couldn't grab my interest. I don't understand their comparisons to the Pixies. At least the Pixies were smart and wrote memorable songs. Sure they have a cool bassline or nifty guitar riff, but their songs just don't stick with me.

Blyss

In terms of live performance for me it's ben harper hands down, i've seen both live, in terms of material kol albums seem to be improving for me while ben's albums don't seem to be as good as in the past, but live you can't go past ben.

dunkman

i'd rather glue my eyelids to a rhino and then get someone to tell that rhino that his best friend is back at the swamp fucking his wife than listen to Ben Harper...


he's utterly over-rated... i can't abide him and he ruins the MSG dvd with his 'voice'

walkthamile

DaytimeDilemma wrote:

I'd expect Secret Machines to blow them out of the water. SM rock.

Oh please :rolleyes:

walkthamile

Trailer wrote:

This thread should be deleted based entirely on the fact that you are even mentioning the horseshit that is KOL in the same post as the god that is Ben Harper!

Ben Harper really is'nt that good.

walkthamile

soulsinging wrote:

ben's career has become so mediocre and pedestrian he is a pale shadow of his former greatness. he's one more lame wanna be acoustic reggae tune from jack johnson.

Amen!

soulsinging

hippiemom wrote:

To tell you the truth, his albums are a little uneven for me too .... but live, he NEVER disappoints!

i mostly agree. he was pretty good at lolla, but even then i didn't feel like he was half what he was when i saw him 4-5 years ago. it was wierd to see him up and running around the stage. i always picture him seated jamming on the lap slide. it would have been fine... but the band just lacks the ferocity and intensity of the old performances in many ways. they were good, but not as good as they used to be.

mulva9

soulsinging wrote:

i mostly agree. he was pretty good at lolla, but even then i didn't feel like he was half what he was when i saw him 4-5 years ago. it was wierd to see him up and running around the stage. i always picture him seated jamming on the lap slide. it would have been fine... but the band just lacks the ferocity and intensity of the old performances in many ways. they were good, but not as good as they used to be.

I think the live show intensity went down when he switched back to the original Innocent Criminals. I enjoyed the live show much more around 99-2001 with the old percussionists, and without the keyboard and extra guitar.

IndianaPearl

oh man that was kind of a tough call there, i've seen them both and loved both so much...but every show i've been to turned out to be my favourite as they all had such a strong specificity...KOL in June was the first time i saw them and most importantly it was just 6 days after I had seen PJ in London...so yeah, they had big shoes to fill...and yet i had a tremendous time, i went there with no prejudice, and they rocked the s*** outta me! :-) so much i HAD to see them again at Rock en Seine Festival, I went just for them and certainly didn't disappoint either!
And Ben...oh wow...i think I've lived the most intense concert emotionnally,spiritually maybe...I had never seen the venue (in Paris) sooooo packed like you wouldn't believe, and everyone was hung onto every word and instrument...Ben even sang acapella at one point without the microphone, it was incredible!
Anyway, you didn't make a bad choice, now you've seen both

waves roll in

First off he was around way before Jack Johnson even started, so how does that make hime a "wannabe"? He helped put Jack's music out to the masses by having him open for Ben. Most of his stuff sounds nothing like Jack, even his acoustic stuff. Second Kings of Leon is kind of cheesy. They all sang in a choir at a Christian Academy and then pursued country music careers. Then they met some producer who had them do Rock and he cowrote most of their songs. That just seems lame to me, it's hard to take them seriously.

soulsinging

waves roll in wrote:

First off he was around way before Jack Johnson even started, so how does that make hime a "wannabe"? He helped put Jack's music out to the masses by having him open for Ben. Most of his stuff sounds nothing like Jack, even his acoustic stuff. Second Kings of Leon is kind of cheesy. They all sang in a choir at a Christian Academy and then pursued country music careers. Then they met some producer who had them do Rock and he cowrote most of their songs. That just seems lame to me, it's hard to take them seriously.

you want to talk cheesy, how about 'with my own two hands'? talk about high school idealistic wannabe revolutionary poetry. i can just picture the incense, stupid hats, patchouli, and bob marley posters in the dormroom playing that song.

Trailer

walkthamile wrote:

Ben Harper really is'nt that good.

Seeing as you have such a valuable opinion in my mind, I'm going to stop listening to Ben because I guess he really isn't that good. I wish you would have told me this earlier so I wouldn't have had to waste my money on all his albums!