Brian Bethke at Loopy's Bar and Grill

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Brian Bethke at Loopy's Bar and Grill

Written by John Abbott

Sunday, 22 August 2010 04:45

Brian Bethke at Loopys Bar and Grill, August 2010

It was a feast at Loopy's Bar and Grill on the Chippewa River, Friday night! …Oh, not us, we just had a taco pizza. Granted, it was a very tasty taco pizza and hands down the best food I have had at Loopy's the three times I have been there. No, I am talking about the mosquitos. Open season on human meat, everyone at the show who didn't spray the bar-provided DEET, was doing the mosquito dance and slap.

Brian Bethke was sounding good. It had been a while since I had last seen him, and he has had a veritable firestorm of health issues over this summer. Such a great guy, with a wealth of talent, but has some bad luck health-wise. Hopefully that stretch is behind him. His look has changed some. You don't go through what he has and not have it show a bit. Its ok, it fits the folk song writer image.

I was real happy to hear Brian play lots of new songs. I was even happier yet to hear lots of new songs that I liked. Sometimes that is a hard combo to achieve after a successful release like Aberdeen. And, I have to admit, I haven't been listening to much Brian Bethke lately. I have been on more of a rock metal drift. So to me, a lot of the stuff he played was new to me.

Dave Burki at Loopys Bar and Grill, August 2010

Dave Burki on stage with Brian Bethke at Loopys Bar and Grill, August 2010

I haven't really listened to his River CD, as issued. He sent me a bootleg, Brian-solo, version of The River. *That* I listen to a lot. And, I am behind because he another EP (maybe, or maybe it is just a single) out …Humm, Red Window… Something like that. So, I'm just saying, Friday night was filled with lots of new music to me. There were even a few "Ah, I am still working on this song, but here it is…" I liked it, and want to see Brian again soon where I can enjoy the music and don't have to swat mosquitos the whole time.

The Wife and I are big Brian Bethke fans. Love his solo music, but as you can imagine, the life of a solo artist is a boring one. So, it seems you seldom really see Brian playing alone. Lately, I have seen him playing mostly with trumpet player Dave Burki. And, I have to say, their playing together more often has improved the act. Several months back I saw the duo at the Acoustic Cafe and it was, well, a little rough around the edges. Not so at Loopy's. The trumpet was a nice addition. Dave played in most of the songs, his timing was real good, volume mix with Brian was perfect. They both seemed to know what was going to happen next, they were in-step with one another. I was happy. They did well.

Brian Bethke sings the song he wrote for the movie The Last Rites of Ransom Pride, The Silence.

Final word, Loopy's was great. It was very pretty in their backyard with the river setting. Plan on using bug spray though or you won't be happy. And, Brian Bethke is turning out great new music and he is a quality live performance with backup Dave Burki.

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Thanks guys! Me and Dave both thought we had a off night Friday but I guess it didn't show in our performance and yes it is a new single "Red Window" Here is a link to the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG4aCeznFzA

Brian Bethke , August 22, 2010 | url

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 07 September 2010 04:57