{"id":885,"date":"2011-12-29T20:00:35","date_gmt":"2011-12-29T20:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/216.71.127.204\/wordpress\/?p=885"},"modified":"2015-10-13T18:50:59","modified_gmt":"2015-10-13T18:50:59","slug":"better-than-ezra-house-of-blues-houston-tx-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/2011\/12\/29\/better-than-ezra-house-of-blues-houston-tx-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Better Than Ezra – House of Blues – Houston, TX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Written by Eddie Ferranti <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dec 29, 2011 at 08:00 PM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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\"Image\"If it is the last Thursday of the year it must be time to grab my runnin’ mate Doctor Ray and head to\u00a0downtown H-Town for some ‘Better Than Ezra’ at the House of Blues!\u00a0\u00a0 Three years running now we’ve made this pre-New Year’s gig and it is\u00a0just a flat out party time fun experience.\u00a0 BTE always puts on a good show. This New Orleans\u00a0outfit has aged well and they’ve continued to be a survivor surviving the 90’s bands alt-rock collapse.<\/p>\n

The rush I experience from the crowd down front is always a hoot, too.\u00a0 It is a time when the\u00a0city seems to try and escape a year and travel to another year like it is some kind of emotional hurdle, with BTE offering a “let’s party-its okay” kind of feel to it.\u00a0\u00a0 My pic moments were great with 2 gems, “Burned” and “Misunderstood” blazing the way for the euphoria to begin.<\/p>\n

\"Image\"These guys, Kevin Griffin on lead vocals and guitar, Tom “The Voice of BTE” Drummond on bass,\u00a0 Michael Jerome on drums, and James Arthur Payne (keys on tour support), tour non-stop to a cultish type of following.\u00a0 To be still alive and kickin’ and in charge of their own futures\u00a0in today’s music biz since 1988 is impressive.\u00a0 The band recently released an EP ‘Death Valley’ which is a rocked up modernized set of LSU tailgaiting songs made mostly popular by the ‘Golden Band from Tigerland’\u00a0\u00a0 Since LSU is sky high right now and in the BCS Championship, the timing was a back door home run for BTE.\u00a0 When they kicked off the encore with the “LSU Fight Song” it got a huge roar.<\/p>\n

The band itself seems to have a good buzz on and is getting better and better at doin’ some impromtu cover songs that really fill the bill in this drunken party venue.\u00a0 Some that surfaced in one fashion or another were “White Wedding”, “I Wanna Be Sedated”, and encore firecracker “It’s the End of the World as We know It (And I Feel Fine)” adding to the end of the year feel I mentioned earlier.\u00a0 By the way, for some reason these cats bring out the “let’s get hammered” women crowd like no other band I’ve seen.\u00a0\u00a0 Not a bad thing gents.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\"Image\"Just as important as the party vibe these men bring to the stage, they also bring good things to the community which they’ve been doing for years. The Better Than Ezra Foundation ( http:\/\/www.btefoundation.org) \u00a0had gained 501c3 non profit status and established the current mission to commit funding towards the recovery and renewal of the structural and cultural heritage of New Orleans and Southern Louisiana.\u00a0 Bravo. The Foundation has raised close to a million dollars for various causes in and around Nawlins since Katrina.\u00a0 Speaking of the Big Easy, BTE switches gears and has become promoters of Mardi Gras boogie time with ‘The Krewe of Rocckus 3 -Day Mardi Gras’ blow out.\u00a0 For travel packages and full details go to : http:\/\/www.kreweofrocckus.com\/eng\/.\u00a0\u00a0 They won’t steer ya wrong!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Another added bonus each visit is the opening acts BTE brings along.\u00a0 This year was no exception when ‘Dash Rip Rock’ blasted their way thru a super charged set that got the crowd more than hot ‘n sweaty for BTE!\u00a0 They are Nawlins based, too and will be on my look for list down the road.\u00a0\u00a0 BTE Jammin’ the walls down to a packed house with 23 songs was super bad ass.\u00a0 Priceless ones also for me were the James cover of “Laid”, “Juicy” with a tease of “Double Dutch Bus”, of course “King of New Orleans, \u00a0rock solid “Good”,\u00a0 and “Desperately Wanting”!\u00a0\u00a0 Judging by the spent and smilin’ crowd they were all desperately wanting the night to never end.\u00a0 In closing, BTE is not a band bent on cashing in on the nostalgia of the 90’s era, but more so reminding us of how unpredictable and fun a night out on the town can be.\u00a0 Try it sometime and mark the calendars for late 2012…………….Happy Healthy New Year to all!<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Eddie Ferranti Dec 29, 2011 at 08:00 PM If it is the last Thursday of the year it must be time to grab my runnin’ mate Doctor Ray and head to\u00a0downtown H-Town for some ‘Better Than Ezra’ at the House of Blues!\u00a0\u00a0 Three years running now we’ve made this pre-New Year’s gig and… <\/p>\n

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