The John Butler Trio + at the Beacon Theatre

John Butler

John Wiltshire-Butler, professionally known as John Butler, was born in Torrance, California, to an Australian father and an American mother. In 1986, after his parents divorced, Butler's father moved the family to Western Australia, where the family eventually settled in a small country town called Pinjarra. At age 16, Butler's grandmother gave him a 1930s dobro belonging to his deceased grandfather, and Butler learned to play music. After high school, Butler travelled to Encintas, California, where he began his music career in a band called Vitamin. Returning to Australia two years later, Butler became a busker, playing his compositions on the streets of Fremantle. There in 1998, he formed the John Butler Trio, a roots and jam band. The John Butler Trio has recorded seven studio albums, including three that reached number one on the Australian charts; his most recent album, Home, was released on September 28, 2018. The John Butler Trio presently consists of vocalist/guitarist Butler, bassist/keyboardist Byron Luiters, and drummer Grant Gerathy.

The John Butler Trio is not nearly as well known in the United States as it is in Australia, yet the band tonight was able to headline the Beacon Theatre, its largest venue in New York so far. (Butler told the audience that the only other time he had played the venue was 15 years ago, opening for moe.) On this tour, the band is being billed as the John Butler Trio +, with the plus being percussionist/vocalist Lozz Benson and percussionist/vocalist/synthesizer player Michael Hardy. Butler seemed to be the equivalent of many musicians, however, switching throughout the set between a custom-made 11-string guitar, several six-string guitars, a pedal steel, a lap-top, a banjo and a harmonica. Even with the use of electronic effects, the band kept the music sounding earthy, although defining its genre of music would be challenging and unfairly limiting. Was it folk, rock, blues, funk, classical -- or something somewhere in the midst of it all? Many songs featured Butler employing fingerpicking techniques, others with him utilizing a slide, and it was all accomplished with mastery. Almost half of the set consisted of songs from the band's most recent album, but the band also performed at least one song from each album as well, giving the audience a taste of the band's 20-year career. Seamlessly, it all sounded like roots music, although perhaps not always American roots. The John Butler Trio likely will find a growing audience among those music fans who enjoy a dynamic acoustic-driven percussive rock sound.

Visit the John Butler Trio at www.johnbutlertrio.com.

Setlist:

1. Wade in the Water
2. Better Than
3. Tahitian Blue
4. Betterman
5. Just Call
6. Running Away
7. I'd Do Anything (Soldier's Lament)
8. Faith
9. Blame It On Me
10. Pickapart
11. Ocean
12. Home
13. Tell Me Why
14. We Want More

Encore:

1. Funky Tonight
2. Zebra