BETTER THAN EZRA

At the Avalon

October 8

Techno beats? Funky bass lines? Crazy sampling and distortion? How could this possibly be the same Better Than Ezra that made their smash debut in 1995 with "Good" and "In the Blood"? With their innovative third major release, How Does Your Garden Grow? the group has branched into new directions of synthetic sounds and vocal distortion while also continuing in the tradition of soft ballads and often teary-eyed lyrics. The result is an eclectic, although sometimes confused, mixture of past successes with fresh and promising new sounds complemented beautifully by Kevin Griffin's passionate vocals. Yet with all of the high merits of the new album, the live performance Thursday night at the Avalon still surpassed all expectations.

The songs from the new album were well suited for a live set, especially when coupled with the band's commanding, entertaining and downright hilarious stage performance. The band did not spend the entire concert plugging their new album, but instead shuffled in a variety of hits and almost-hits from their two previous major record releases, Deluxe and Friction, Baby. Griffin paid homage to his New Orleans roots with an emotional rendition of "King of New Orleans." But he was quick to remind the audience of his Boston connection, parking cars for a semester at Boston University, which was his inspiration for "Normal Town," the single off the soundtrack of the summer horror film, An American Werewolf in London.

Unfortunately, the band did not devote much stage time to more obscure songs, often glossing over crowd requests to play only the singles that received radio play. Two of the most powerful moments occurred when they deviated from the typhoon of pop hits. With just an acoustic guitar, mournful vocals and a single spotlight, Griffin silenced the crowd with a beautiful, delicate rendition of "Porcelain." Later, Griffin stopped the concert in order to playfully explain the lyrics of "Happy Day, MeMe", which was inspired by the joy he felt waking up to the still-sleeping face of a loved one.

A refreshing part of the concert was what was left out: vicious self-promotion. The new album was only mentioned once, and Griffin briefly revealed that the next single would be "At the Star,s, which was then performed with a simple, yet effective string arrangement and piano accompaniment. The steam-up-the-car-windows ballad climaxed with the lamenting lyrics "I've finally found that/Everybody loves to love you when you're far away."

Instead of getting on stage and quickly grinding out their set, Better Than Ezra displayed its ability to entertain a crowd with multiple interactive moments. For instance, Griffin broke from his over-sentimental lyrics half-way through "This Time of Year" in order to get down from the stage and experiment with a new sampling machine using voices from audience members. The humorous side of the band emerged when they argued among themselves or when Griffin replaced his lyrics with Chumbawumba or Fat Boy Slim. The band members playfully danced around the stage, covering obscure Aerosmith songs or playing chopsticks on the keyboard. As great as the musical selections were, the real joy of a Better Than Ezra show lies in the interactive and personal stage style, ranging from touching melodies to boisterous horseplay.

Although previous albums and much of the show focused on the obnoxious and passionate vocalist and guitarist Kevin Griffin, their new album, How Does Your Garden Grow?, displays the talents of bassist Tom Drummond and drummer Travis McNabb. In "One More Murder," the first single off the new album and on the X-Files summer movie soundtrack, Griffin's vocals are restrained and the guitar is absent for much of the song. Drummond and McNabb combine for some funky bass lines and techno beats, which are also prevalent on the first track, "Je ne m'en Souviens pas." More than ever, Better Than Ezra is more than just a playground for the diverse and profound talents of Kevin Griffin, upon which the previous two albums relied heavily.

The worst part of the show was its abrupt end. After an hour and a half, Better Than Ezra, still enthusiastically jamming and performing, left the stage. With the energy and power of their show, the audience seemed to expect a long encore. Instead, the band came back on stage, and Griffin announced that they have to wrap the show up because the Avalon management had informed them of a scheduled disco dance that was starting in 10 minutes. As a result, Better Than Ezra was forced to cut back and rush through their encore, losing some of their entertaining zeal in the process. Despite the restrictions of club management, Better Than Ezra still got the crowd jumping with their final song, "Desperately Wanted," in which they turned the house lights on above the charged audience. Overall, the concert was emotional and energetic, ranging from touching and sentimental melodies to amusingly obnoxious stage antics. This variety of music and attitude are reflections of the new sound of Better Than Ezra on How Does Your Garden Grow?.