Nothing I Can Do | Ben Taylor

So Brandi Carlile was sick and couldn't perform at yesterday's WFUV live broadcast. It was a bit sad because by the afternoon yesterday, I was pretty excited to see her live. Oh well. Instead, Ben Taylor and his band took the full hour.

You may recognize Ben Taylor, and that is because he is the son of the great James Taylor (I think it's quite obvious). His set was low-key and quite enjoyable, I'd place him in some sort of Jack Johnson meets Cat Stevens category (he even covered Cat Stevens, which was the highlight of the set). His talented guitar player, David Saw opened up with a couple of his own songs, including one about an obsessed fan on myspace. I think I liked him better, and it wasn't just because he is British and easy on the eyes. Or maybe it was.

It was funny, sitting down at a show, and having to be quiet. Since this was a live broadcast on WFUV, I was very aware of every sound I made. I wasn't used to that. Without a drink, or the ability to express my opinions, I found myself figiting in my seat. Conor was yawning. So we bobbed our heads in the mass of a much older crowd. I'm ready to go back to loud Lower East Side clubs now, thank you very much.

Ben Taylor's second album, Another Run Around the Sun is currently available here. He will be down in Austin for SXSW as well.

SXSW Hotel Cafe show - Thursday Mar 16th at Copa
8:00pm Annie Stella
8:30pm Jenny Owen Youngs
9:00pm Kevin Devine
9:30pm Charlotte Martin
10:00pm Ben Taylor
10:30pm David Ford
11:00pm Chris Pierce
11:30pm Joe Purdy
12:00am Jim Bianco
12:30am Cary Brothers
plus a collaboration with KT Tunstall and members of Gomez.

Ben Taylor - Nothing I Can Do