Show fueled by passion

It's Ben Harper himself who declares on his Web site, www.virginrecords.com/ben_harper, that "sometimes I think to talk too much about music almost cheapens it." But Sunday night's concert at Indianapolis' Murat Theater featuring Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, with opener D.J. Logic, is an evening worth talking about.\nD.J. Logic opened with the stage filled with an assortment of instruments. To watch them spin was much more entertaining than one might imagine ' the songs were craftily built by layering sound bites and repeating loops on top of heavy, thumping beats, and adding the sounds of varied instruments including the flute, saxophone and many keyboards.\nBut the night came alive when Harper took the stage, sitting on a throne-like chair draped with an afghan. His band, the Innocent Criminals, features bassist Juan Nelson, drummer Dean Butterworth (who played shirtless) and percussionist David Leach, all of whom were on fire. \nHarper and his band recently released a new album, Burn to Shine, which was written entirely by Harper and is a product of half a year in the studio. The title track, "Burn to Shine," was among the first few songs Harper played, and was met with a more than enthusiastic reaction from the audience.\nHarper kept the set alive by constantly switching instruments, which he did between almost every song. With his acoustic guitar, Harper crooned folky favorites, like "Please Me Like You Want To," from his 1995 album Fight For Your Mind. When he held his lap guitar, his sound was a little heavier, a little more like rock and roll.\nLeach's amazing knack for percussion was featured on the bongos for the band's lively rendition of "Burn One Down," which brought the crowd to their feet. The reggae and soul influences of the musicians came out during this and several other songs.\nThe band closed its first set with the popular radio favorite, "Steal My Kisses," featuring the human beatbox. By the end, the band, led by Harper, was on their feet, abandoning the instruments and jumping up and down on top of speakers in glee, establishing a rapport with the audience that would last through the rest of the show.\nHe began interacting with the audience when, during his introduction of his band, an audience member yelled, "I love you, Dean," to Harper's drummer. During the entire exchange, Harper remained amicable and continually thanked the audience for their positive support.\nHarper returned to the stage by himself for a second set, and the audience settled down into their seats to enjoy his slower, jazzier folk style. Harper's distinctive vocals and his pure, raw emotion show more when he played by himself and illustrate the passion he very evidently feels for his music.\nOn his Web site, Harper said, "I just love music, you know what I'm saying? When you love music and you love what you do, you can only hope that people will get behind what you're doing.\nAnd music don't lie. Music is the truth. You can look into a man's eyes and know, because a man's heart is in his eyes, and music comes from the heart. You can look into a man's eyes and know if he's about music or he's just a pirate."\nFrom his heart-felt performance Sunday, Harper is definitely about music.\nThe band joined him on stage for the third and final set, which featured several cover songs. Harper and the band jammed with their rendition of Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing," an obvious favorite with the audience. One of the last numbers was an unexpected cover of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love," which even die-hard Zeppelin fans appreciated. \nHarper stole the show with his passion for the music he played. Anyone who attended Sunday's performance is undoubtedly looking forward to their next chance to see him perform.