Girl at the Rock Shows

Part of my night was spent going down nostalgia lane with radio-pseudo-metal acts Drowning Pool and Saliva. The other part of my night was spent in a cloud of a dream that came in the form of Jack Botts. Although the two shows were happening mere feet away from each other, they couldn’t have been more different. I loved the excitement I was getting from the show in First Avenue’s mainroom but also loved the intimacy and tenderness that came with the more singer-songwriter based show in the 7th Street Entry.

Opening act Ben Camden surely was a long way from home on Tuesday night but the Byron Bay, Australia native seemed to fit in absolutely perfectly as he kicked into his opening set. Having grown up in what seems to be a fairly nomadic lifestyle, I loved hearing Ben’s stories about his time spent in Fiji or the time his parents moved to a super isolated island and he stopped to visit them (which turned into a song). There was something soft and sweet about his stories and that translated perfectly into his music.

One of my favorite things about Ben Camden’s set was his lyrics. Every song seemed to have a positive message behind it which, in this day and age, I feel like we could all use a little more of. A perfect example of this is when he was introducing a song that was about when you think you know everything about someone but they go and do something that… Here’s where most people would talk about said person doing something to ruin everything but, instead, Ben continued on to say … something that makes you fall in love with them all over again. That is just one example of the positivity that Ben brought to the stage and that had me sold on this amazing talent instantly.

Before I move on to the next act of the night, I highly suggest you check out Ben Camden’s song, “Salt”. The way Ben manipulates his voice for the word “salt” in this song is absolutely stunning. It had chills running up and down my spine as he performed this track. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I had chills the entire set because he was that good but this song absolutely stood out to me for all of the right reasons.

Following Ben Camden was another Ben coming in the form of Ben Goldsmith. Ben Goldsmith may only be seventeen years old and on his first ever tour but, man, this kid has a voice and a style that can not be ignored and will absolutely shoot him to great new heights. Although, at the surface, Ben Goldsmith is just another singer-songwriter with an amazing voice and a story tell, there’s so much more to this fantastic human. I found a sense of a subtle edge in his sweetness that I just could not get enough of. I wish I could put more words to this statement but, the fact is, I’m just grasping for ways to articulate it. There was just this sense of depth to him that comes with a old soul kind of vibe yet, overall, Ben Goldsmith, like Ben Camden, had this air of positivity and poppiness in his music.

Ending the beautiful night of music in the 7th Street Entry on Tuesday night was Australian singer-songwriter, Jack Botts. Joined on stage by Ben Camden, Jack continued on with the positivity laid out by the previous two performances and expanded on it. There was something so free and organic about Jack but, at the same time, his set came off as perfectly rehearsed and polished when it came to the music. Although I was having an insanely busy night with bouncing between First Avenue’s mainroom and the more intimate 7th Street Entry, I feel like Jack gave me a sense of calm that really helped me get through the night without having a complete panic attack.

I’ll be honest, there weren’t many people in attendance at the 7th Street Entry but that added to the magic a little bit. Although the music of both Ben’s and Jack is all very personal and heart-on-your-sleeve styled when it came to the lyrics, the addition of a super intimate setting just enhanced all of that. The vibe was chill, calm, and cozy and, with the first signs of fall in the air after a record-setting couple days of heat, it was absolutely perfect.

Line Up:

Ben Camden

Ben Goldsmith

Jack Botts

Venue:  7th Street Entry

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 19

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 0 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- 0

Broken Bones- None Noticed

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out Kids- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 0

How Irritated I Was With The Audience – 0 out of 10

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Ben Camden– 0

Ben Goldsmith – 0

Jack Botts – 0

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score –8.2 out of 10

Show on Deck — Pkew Pkew Pkew / Matt and Kim

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