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Ben favs - 06
Originally uploaded by mandyloula.

Last night I went to the Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals concert, and it was absolutely incredible--one of the best I've seen. The venue was perfect--about 300-350 people crammed into a tiny theater on the Hill (CU area) of Boulder. Of course, Aubrea and I got there early to get in line so we could be right up front--and we were. Our friends Mary and Chris met us there as well. Mary works at a bead shop in Boulder, and she creates these beautiful necklaces, so, to show her appreciation of Ben, she made him a chunky rastafarian-looking necklace with a cross on it. Mid-way through the concert, she handed it to him. He stopped, looked surprised that she would give him something so beautiful, thanked her, grabbed her hand, then held it up for the crowd to see, showed it off his bass player, and then placed it gently aside. At the very end of the concert, during the last song, "With My Own Two Hands," the climax for all of us (friends of Mary), Ben put the necklace on. I felt it was symbolic of his appreciation of his fans and what I'm hoping is his love for Jesus--of his desire to play music for Him. I really do think he loves Jesus . . . he talks about him a lot, and I've honestly never seen anyone perform with such passion, humility, intensity, and power. If Jesus were a musician, I really think he would be very similar to Ben. Hopefully I'm not being heretical. I'm just saying that you could truly see that he has a beautiful, sweet soul. When he sang "Better Way," I believed he really does believe in a better way.

Anyway, we were more than impressed with the concert. He did three encores. Yes, three, which included two of my old favorites, "Walk Away" and "Forever." Thanks, Ben. Also, he sang what Aubrea and I refer to as "the future husband song," which is "Waiting for You." It's a new favorite of mine. He played again tonight, and I wished I had a ticket, but as it was, I got two of the last twelve in existence, so it was a bit impossible. But I'm thankful for the opportunity to see him on Friday night. If you ever get the chance, go. You won't regret it.