Brett Dennen’s remarkably unique songwriting perspective & voice caught my ear after falling into the rotation on local Pacifica DJ Larry Winter’s Sat afternoon show “Spare Change”… The raw potential of songs like “Ain’t No Reason” and “I Asked When” begged for a full investigation…I discovered a young, refreshing, six foot-four, lanky, Opie-faced singer-songwriter with talents that paralleled my Texas favorites of the same genre but with a left coast flavor & Music Without Borders open-mindedness that could take this philanthropic soul around the world making a positive impact…

However for the time being he appears pre-destined to be cropped into a Grey’s Anatomy genre with the likes of Jason Mraz and John Mayer both of which he describes as friends. The former a fellow activist and co-writer on “Long Road to Forgiveness” and the latter which he opened several dates last year with Colbie Caillat one of which was 4th of July weekend in the Woodlands…Brett’s popularity soared when his work appeared on the fore-mentioned hit TV series as well as House and Scrubs sending the herd to get downloads and chat up the vast depth of social networking worlds in cyberspace…BD has appeared on Good Morning America and Jimmy Kimbell and has recently released a video with Mandy Moore for the single “Makes U Crazy” and a live CD from Apple store performances while in Sydney…Available only on ITunes of course…

On this date, BD had a Garland, Texas sweetheart opening the show – Erin McCarley..A petite girl with a strong sleepy voice that was all the buzz a SXSW this year… She is supporting her “Love, Save the Empty” release…Now based out of Nashville unfortunately , she comes off as a white-washed version of a genre that your reviewer holds dear…A group of true female talents pimped modern Grand ‘Ole Opry style by a doll up & dollar up approach. Leaving real fans picking up scraps for years after the mainstreet sweeper truck pushes them in the alley….An awkward treat was her cover of Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner” with her keys player “beat-boxing” ala The Fat Boys as to a growing crowd looking great and wanting to be seen..We wish her well…

BD made his way to the stage donning a hat covering his fire red mane kicking things off with “Darlin’ Do Not Fear” often breaking into his interesting playing/dance style that really compliments the eclectic sound his electric songs bring…The sound was great, I think, I heard good parts in between the LOUD crowd packed into the Warehouse Studio by now.. The versatile band held steady and were capable of scorching solos when the rare occasion occurred. Let’s be honest, BD is not much to look at but neither was Bob Dylan or Neil Young, two of his inspirations…BD has talked about his gaining confidence in his unusual voice thru reading about what Neil Young went thru vocally in Buffalo Springfield before becoming the solo icon he is today…

The set list pulled material from all of BD’s 3 CD releases..The patrons that paid for tickets and were actually watching the show were eager for the upbeat tunes of “She’s Mine”, “Make You Crazy”,  “Who Do You Think You Are”, “San Francisco” and “Closer To You” but even this group seemed to have temporary amnesia when Brett brought out his Martin acoustic forgetting they were at a live music show pushing the Blab-o-meter way up for his intimate tunes, “Nothing Last Forever”,  “When She Is Gone”, & “Ain’t No Reason”…BD ended the set with “Heaven”, his “Imagine” like songs that is a honorably anthem for his generation.

Thankfully, the crowd used their strength to cheer BD back on stage for a 4 song encore which consisted of solo Brett’s blab drowned  acoustic  for 2 and the full band back out for 2.. The night ended with the appropriate “World Keeps Turnin” … A sing along with a “hang in there” message…… “

Glad to see the “in flesh” version and happy to disregard some live performance doubt generated by some YouTube videos where BD seemed inconsistent.  This reviewer will keep an eye on this artist. I hope Brett all the best with the multiple charities he supports with his celebrity…I have to say, Houston, that I wish I could have made it to the La Zona Rosa show in Austin to be able to see and HEAR a solid singer-songwriter doing what he does best…Keep supporting live music….