Ben Kweller at The Troubadour, LA, Oct 2^nd.

Jessica Simpson proved how tricky it can be to go from one genre of music to another. Her attempt to go country was widely received as a failure by fans of both pop and country. However, I do not see this being a problem for Texas native Ben Kweller, who was recently at LA’s Troubadour to promote his EP ‘How You Lookin’ Southbound Come In?’

“This song is influenced by guys I used to listen to like Gram Parsons and Hank Williams,” he told the Troubadour crowd, “before Kurt Cobain came along and ruined it all”.  He then ripped into new song ‘Fight’ which is a catchy upbeat country foot stomper and a great introduction to the new sound.

Ben has gone from grunge to indie to pop and is now going back to his country roots for his new EP and upcoming album, Changing Horses.

While the night may have been about warming his fans up to his new country influenced sound, he proved he still knows how to please the crowd with his classic hits such as ‘Falling’- the standout track from his debut solo album Sha Sha.

He also managed to fuse a country twist to some of his older songs. The rocking track ‘This Is War’ along with guitar driven ‘Different But The Same’ both received the lap steel treatment and sounded just as glorious as the originals.

The highlight of the evening was the final song which showcased Ben at his finest; jumping from guitar to piano and encouraging the crowd to sing along. As ‘Penny on the Train Track’ drew to a close the whole venue joined in to sing the line ‘I wait, I wait, for something good for something great’, and Ben delivered that ‘Something Great’.

Ben is one of America’s finest songwriters and while he may risk alienating some fans with his new direction, based on his performance at the Troubadour he will win over even the most anti-country music fan.