After Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals' 1998 show at Brisbane's dearly departed Festival Hall, a couple of dozen people were treated to an impromptu post-gig busking session from the man himself.
In what has become Brisbane folklore, Harper told that lucky few that he wasn't that happy with how the show had gone and he thought he'd give a little extra by way of some sort of apology.
None of those present who were actually at that show – still a top five of all time for me – saw it that way.
But the humility of the man has stuck with me since that night and it's on show again on Thursday night at the Riverstage.
This evening, the weather's perfect – a cool pre-summer's night at the end of a stinking hot day – and everyone, it seems, is in a good mood.
Particularly those on the stage.
It's the Innocent Criminals' first appearance in Brisbane in a decade (although Harper himself was here in 2012, just across the river at the Convention Centre) and they're welcomed like old friends.
Oppression warms up the crowd. Diamonds on the Inside brings them down the hill to the front of the stage. And they stay there all night.
Ben Harper might be the headliner, but the Innocent Criminals are the lifeblood. And there is nothing better in music than a Juan Nelson bass solo.
It comes, as it so often does, during Fight for Your Mind, from the 1995 album of the same name.
More than that, Nelson enters into a mindblowing duel with Harper, seated with his Weissenborn slide guitar on his lap.
What a pleasure it is to see this decades-long musical partnership continue so strongly. Now, as it was then, Nelson in full flight is one of the greatest joys in live music.
But it's percussionist Leon Mobley who threatens to steal the show, taking centre stage during first encore, Burn One Down.
"This is the first time I've heard this song without smoking a joint," my companion says to me. Clearly, she wasn't breathing deeply enough.
Harper's ode to herb-based recreation prompts not just an enthusiastic singalong – "If you don't like my fire, don't come around, 'cause I'm gonna burn one down" – but also a literal interpretation of the lyrics.
In a world of increasing trumped-up idiocy, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals provide a couple of hours of pure joy.
And there's certainly no need for an apologetic busking session out on the street. There are no complaints tonight, just warm satisfaction.
Setlist
- Oppression
- Diamonds On The Inside
- Don't Take That Attitude To Your Grave
- Finding Our Way
- In The Colors
- Shine
- Morning Yearning
- Roses From My Friends
- Fight For Your Mind / Them Changes
- Excuse Me Mr.
- Faded
- How Dark Is Gone
Encore
- Burn One Down
- Steal My Kisses
- With My Own Two Hands
Remaining shows on Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals' Call It What It Is tour of Australia and New Zealand:
- Melbourne: Sidney Myer Music Bowl, November 26.
- Queenscliff: Queenscliff Music Festival, November 27.
- Adelaide: AEC Theatre, November 28.
- Perth: Kings Park, November 30.
- Auckland: Vector Arena, December 2.
- Hawkes Bay: Church Road Winery, December 3.
- Wellington: Michael Fowler Centre, December 4.
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