Band Scene XIV: Funk From Down Under

Imagine if Jimi Hendrix and Ani Defranco had a child...well, such a person exists, introducing John Butler, an acoustic guitarist with the grit of Hendrix and the mindset and hair of Ani. Now imagine that with a very good drummer and bassist, and you have the increasingly popular John Butler Trio out of Austraila, but making it big in the U.S. with their newest March release, Grand National. Beyond this album of psychadelic alternative folk jam album, there is the totally unleashed live version. Thanks to Archive.org, I have two excellent live recordings of theirs that are completely paramount to their own playing on the album. Songs like "Ocean" or their single "Better Than" would be much less defined if i was not for the live versions of these songs. The guitar work is seamless with grueling tempos, and the emotions are clearly evident in the Trio's writing and playing.