A few weeks ago, my girlfriend mentioned that Better Than Ezra was playing a free show in downtown Baltimore and asked if I wanted to go. Better Than Ezra? Free? I'm there.
BTE has always been one of my favorite bands. They've consistently produced great music starting in one of the golden ages of rock in the mid-nineties. Of their 5 major studio albums, not a single one has been bad. In fact, I'd venture to say that all of their output is excellent.
Better Than Ezra also seems to like playing in Baltimore. They've played the same venue, also free of charge, for the past four or five years straight, and they've come here consistently for most of the past decade. As far as bands go, they're like your favorite cool uncle that comes to visit over the holidays and gives you a bunch of cash and goes out drinking with you. Actually, that's a stupid analogy and I don't have an uncle like that, but hopefully you get the point. I love me my annual live BTE fix.
As for the show itself, a good time was had by all. The band played a quality set with a bunch of staples and spanned their catalogue fairly well. They didn't play a couple of my favorites, "Live Again" and "Daylight", but I can't complain. As usual, "A Lifetime" and "In the Blood" were great to hear.
For your listening pleasure, wholesome MP3's follow the setlist below.
setlist
Burned
Good
Pull
Sincerely Me
A Lifetime
Extra Ordinary
King of New Orleans
Southern Thing
At the Stars
Laid (James cover)
Miss You (Rolling Stones cover) ---> Juicy
Desperately Wanting
encore
Jolene (cover)
Girl of the North Country (Bob Dylan cover)
Misunderstood
In the Blood
MP3: Better Than Ezra - "Desperately Wanting"
MP3: Better Than Ezra - "Good"
MP3: Better Than Ezra - "A Lifetime"
MP3: Better Than Ezra - "Misunderstood"
MP3: Better Than Ezra - "Breathless"
MP3: Better Than Ezra - "Daylight"
