The island’s most versatile musician and his shifting band of merry men.
by Nick Macksood
There is an art of choosing the right song. Various settings, audiences, moods, even time all slightly alter the ephemeral moment of selection. We all know when the wrong song is chosen or when the wrong note is struck, we feel it grating against our bones. But the funny thing is how imperceptible the right song and tone can be.
All of which is a very slippery slope in the business of cover bands. Choose a handful of good songs and everybody leaves during the intermission or mills around inattentively after the break. But a set list of great music grabs you by the lapels and commands you to move, bob your head, tap your feet. Do something.
The Mike Benjamin Band excels in this regard. The songs Benjamin and company play subtly bend according to their judgment. Inspired by all genres of music, you can expect to hear songs from Van Morrison to Daft Punk, all with the band’s own bluesy-Americana take on them. Which is refreshing, but not overcooked either. Steely Dan is going to sound like Steely Dan, and we can thank The Mike Benjamin Band for that.
But it would be far too dishonest to classify The Mike Benjamin Band as a cover group or a wedding band. The truth is that they are far more than their contemporaries’ music. To start, the band has released two original albums, “Backyard” (2005) and “Never Too Late” (2010), both produced in Benjamin’s home studio. And sure, they’ve had the privilege of playing with the likes of Brad Paisley and Bill Clinton, performing for Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, ad infinitum. But when I asked Benjamin who it was he had shared the stage with that struck him the most, he told me, “I feel lucky that there’s people that I’ve been playing with in different bands, on and off, for years and we never made a commitment to playing with each other. You just keep playing, and they keep showing up.”
That type of bond is evident at any Mike Benjamin show. Tuesday nights at Lola’s, Thursday nights at the Atlantic, and Friday nights at the Ritz: odds are you’ll see different faces playing along with Benjamin on each night or some peculiar instruments, but each show is nothing short of entertaining. Of course, Benjamin is an accomplished musician himself. Has been for some time. He can rip on the guitar just as well as anyone, but a lot of other musicians can do that too, and they’ll be the first to show you. Benjamin’s timing is what sets him apart from the rest–he knows when the right note should be played and also when the absence of a tone is appropriate. Guitar solos need a breath of fresh air every once in a while too.
And no matter who is sitting in with him on a given night, they are all as musically talented as Benjamin. My personal favorite moments happened to be a clarinet solo diced up and shredded by an overhead fan at the Ritz, and of course the ever-rare melodica sighting at last weekend’s MV Sound Festival. If you missed it, allow me to fill in the blanks. The Sunday’s finale featured The Mike Benjamin band jamming alongside Ryan Montbleau, Phil DeRosa, and members of the Island Thunder Band. It looked like the Vineyard replica of Scorsese’s “Last Waltz”. Swaying somewhere in the middle of the pack of what had to be the most dense stage of musical talent in a 100-mile radius was Mike Benjamin, playing rhythm guitar and singing backup vocals.
On his own, Benjamin can hold his own as one of the finest acts the Vineyard has to offer. This much is certain. But place him in the company of his band, his friends, his island, and that is where The Mike Benjamin Band is at its best.
