Though the recording quality of the Sept 5 2010 performance is higher (because of the venue, I expect, more than anything else) this is an incredible performance. Scroll on down and read the long review below for a really good eye-witness account. "Sink Em Low" is such a standout performance it alone would make the recording worthwhile, but the rest is also quite marvelous. Five stars for performance. Four for recording (audience noise is intrusive at times)

Search 'Ben Sollee' in Myspace. His page will have the most current method to purchase his CD's.

Can anyone tell me where I can get some of his CD's - Learning to Bend or Turn on the Moon? Thank you.

Rock Bar is definitely not the type of venue where you’d expect to see a man with a cello keening “I want my bluebird back”. Definitely not. The natives, needless to say, were restless, but the little enclave around the stage had the feeling of being an oasis of serenity and interest despite the distraction of the nearly naked bartenders and the wall-sized screen off to stage right that was positively screaming with images of the angry punk persuasion.

It was interesting to see Lamar Cornett behind a full set instead of with a single hand drum and definately added a lot of depth to his performance. And I'd never seen Ben perform with a keyboard before. Of course, there was one unaccountable presence on the stage, as well. Quite simply, there was a man with a microphone that nobody knew what to do with. I could sense right away a new vibe and was looking forward to the hearing some new material.

The first few songs were classic Ben with clean vocals and complex but uncomplicated strumming. The combination of "Throwing Stones", "A Few Honest Words" and "A Change is Gonna Come" was brilliant due to their similar moods and gentle political references, though the initial lineup of the first two folky and mellow songs didn't inspire any excess of interest from the crowd until the MC Stewart Eskew really stretched out and integrated himself into the mix during "A Change is Gonna Come" instead of limiting himself to melodic mummbling as he had in "A Few Honest Words".

Ben won some notable interest from the crowd with his bluegrass instrumental interlude, but I can speak from personal experience that my friends (who'd never seen Ben perform before, but who were sick of me forcing them to listen to the few recordings I had) didn't finally get on board until "Chocolate Jesus". You can actually hear my friend Loren giggling under the opening notes. And I'm fairly certain it was the music and not the Jager bombs that had her dancing little circles and grinning from ear to ear. I, myself, was giddy with delight.

The performance of "Bury Me with My Car" was more laid back than I'd seen it performed previously, like Ben wasn't attacking it with the same level of conviction. There was a distance between the performer and the material which was unaccountable.

But the real highlight of the night was what is introduced as 'an old field work song'. I have to admit I was at a complete loss until the first few lines of lyrics whereupon it dawned on me "ah, a negro spiritual. Why didn't you just say so?" Sink 'Em Low was a flavorful mix of what is best about Kentucky, both the Bluegrass tradition and the urban energy. I was caught off guard by how well the two styles integrated into a seemless whole. I attribute this to the pure alchemy that Ben creates in his craft. The arrangement has a relentless intensity that nearly overpowers the beauty of it, but resolves at last into contemplative solo bowing that does nothing to soften the impact of the composition. Honestly, I was there, and the man nearly played the glasses off his face! "Sink 'em Low", the few times I had heard it before, had saddened me to hear it, but the Sollee version keys me into the anger and injustice of not only the era in which the original was written, but also the anger and injustice of today. The performance of it had real weight and ferocity and an excess of emotion that never quite finds an outlet.

The set was over far too soon. And I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the addition of Stewart Askew, who is truly a poet. Ben's technique is engrossing to watch, as always, but his performance was a little more concentrated and little less relaxed than I had seen it previously. The venue wasn't perfect and subtracted a lot from the experience, but not nearly enough to keep this from being an engrossing and exciting performance.

Wow- the sink em low is smokinnnnnnnnnnn, Ben is superb- this is well worth listening to- thanks for posting!
. Thats the best chocolate jesus cover out there.

Great recording- well done all round.