Ezra Furman/Joseph Arthur @ Williamsburg Music Hall. Brooklyn.

I left class early last night to see Ezra Furman and the Harpoons play at the Williamsburg Music Hall. To my delight, I discovered that Joseph Arthur was headlining, a man whose music I've loved since high school and whose "Come to Where I'm From" album put butterflies in my stomach. I had never seen him live, so this was like two musical gifts in one.

I was surprised by how large the venue was. There were a good amount of people there as well. Ezra and the Harpoons went on first around 9pm and played to a [most likely] crowd larger than they're used to. They had a fourth member again, a friend from Boston named Kevin. I knew right away that this would be a killer show, and I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I will go so far as to say that of all of the five times I have seen this band, this was by far their greatest performance. It could have been the acoustics in the room, or maybe it was the pressure of such a large audience. Whatever it was, it worked. They had everyone dancing like fools, most of whom had not known of Ezra Furman before this lovely night. "The Worm in the Apple" and the usual "Take Off Your Sunglasses" were the highlights, I'd have to say. When the set ended, everyone proceeded to scream and stomp on the ground, demanding Ezra back to the stage. Sadly, they weren't allowed to return. After this, I was approached by several people throughout the night asking me what that band was called and telling me they sounded like "Bob Dylan but better." Impressive.

A terrible quality picture of Ezra & Adam

Next to hit the stage was Joseph Arthur. As much as I loved the man back in the day, I was skeptical on how he'd sound live, especially now backed by a band [who call themselves the Lonely Astronauts]. I was planning on staying only for a few songs, but each song they played made me want to stay longer. Halfway through, I was on such a high, I wanted Arthur's set to last all night. Backed up by a band, it was like he was a completely different musician, in the best way possible. Only one complaint here: He never played "Honey and the Moon". Come on, man. That's your most well-known masterpiece. *Sigh* Maybe next time.

A poor quality image of Joseph Arthur

Check out Joseph Arthur's tunes at http://www.myspace.com/josepharthur

and Ezra Furman and the Harpoons at http://www.myspace.com/ezrafurman

It'll make you smile.