ben howard live review and ben howard concert photos

Ben Howard Live Review + Concert Photos | Jannus Live St. Petersburg | January 20 2015

by Adam Fricke • February 22, 2015

My good friend and I often took early morning trips up and down Florida’s east coast in search of waves with mugs full of coffee and trucks full of boards and wetsuits. He introduced me to Ben Howard with “Old Pine,” and it became the soundtrack to my whole 2010 winter surf season. My good friend An avid surfer himself, Ben’s music calls to those who are called by the sea. The first line of “Old Pine,” “hot sand on toes, cold sand in sleeping bags,” couldn’t more accurately describe a winter beach trip. So naturally, Ben’s songs continued to fill our ears when he released his debut album the following year (entitled Every Kingdom).

This year, Ben finally decided to tour all the way down to Florida (his previous North American tours have always remained up north) so you can bet your sweet ass that we made the two-hour drive to St. Petersburg’s Jannus Live to hear him in person.

Ben is an amazing guitar player; a master of open tunings and percussive guitar styles, most evident in his earlier work. I was hoping to hear a lot of the earlier songs throughout his set. However, he had something different in mind. Most of his set came from his new album that was just released in October (2014), entitled I Forget Where We Were, hear the title track here.

Listen to “Further Away” to see Ben showcase his guitar skills. Especially from 3:20–end… ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

As his music has progressed, he began to move away from that percussive, acoustic style and toward a more electric feel, with a full band to fall back on. Naturally, this gave him a much fuller sound. It’s different, but you can still feel his younger style coming through.

Joining him on stage was his usual drummer/bassist, Chris Bond and cellist/vocalist India Bourne. In addition, he brought with him Nat Wasson, Bear Bond, and Mickey Smith. Smith is Howard’s long time friend who also happens so be a fantastic photographer/videographer and directed Ben’s video for “Old Pine.”

Ben and his band played a solid two-hour set full of emotion and had the whole crowd mesmerized. While tuning his guitar mid-way through the set, he thanked the audience for being so energetic throughout the performance.

He told us a story from the night before when they played in Miami. He explained that he always prepares his setlist as if he were going to leave immediately after. That means no encore – unless you prove that you want it. He told us that Miami didn’t earn it (even though he appreciated the warm weather and tequila) but not to worry, St. Petersburg earned their encore that night which consisted of one on my favorite songs, “The Fear.”

Ben Howard Live Review & Ben Howard Concert Photos by Adam Fricke.