…it was the greatest show I ever saw.<\/p>\n
I’ve been dying to see Benji Hughes live since discovering him<\/a> back in October via an article in The Believer<\/a> magazine that sat unread on our coffee table for several weeks. By the time I got around to reading it and listening to his album I learned we had just missed a show he did in LA days prior. A few months later we learned of another LA show 3 days after it happened. My wife was actually toying with flying to North Carolina for my birthday to see him play, but that surprise got nixed when I insisted on watching the LOST<\/em> finale in the comfort of our own home. But now the wait is over, with Benji doing a 4 show residency at Largo<\/a> throughout July!<\/p>\n Week 1 was nothing like I expected and more than I could have hoped for. The dude is just plain hilarious up there on stage with his big red cape, long hair and sunglasses. He randomly wanders off in between songs (to get “water”), one time sneaking back on stage against the rear red curtain while “camouflaging” himself with the cape. Goofy, but in a good way and highly entertaining.<\/p>\n In some regards it felt like we were watching a rehearsal as the band improvised the setlist — sometimes making song choices that Benji disagreed with but still nailed. (I’m not sure if this was part of the schtick or a real event, but later in the show it was revealed that Benji had accidentally ripped off the bottom half of the setlist while searching for a piece of note paper shortly before taking the stage.)<\/p>\n Jackson Browne was the special guest who jammed with him in the second half. They did a couple of Zevon covers, Benji’s “All You’ve Got to Do Is Fall In Love” (where Benji had to correct Jackson’s melody on the chorus), and one song by guitarist and former Muscadine partner in crime Jonathan Wilson.<\/p>\n Rough, out of order and likely incomplete setlist from memory:<\/p>\n Higher Than Balls My only minor gripe is this: I tend to go into concerts with a mental checklist of songs I hope an artist plays, and then judge the show on how much of my wishlist was covered. \u00a0In this case, only the encore song was on my pre-show list. But it was still awesome regardless. Can’t wait for next week!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" …it was the greatest show I ever saw. I’ve been dying to see Benji Hughes live since discovering him back in October via an article in The Believer magazine that sat unread on our coffee table for several weeks. By the time I got around to reading it and listening to his album I learned…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16],"tags":[37],"class_list":["post-948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music","tag-benji-hughes"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3pfx3-fi","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2083,"url":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/new-novel-l-extreme\/","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":0},"title":"New Novel: L Extreme","author":"LBDG","date":"April 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been awhile but we're back with style... Announcing the new novel by JL Civi: L Extreme! Readers of this blog know I've been a huge fan of Benji Hughes for years. Somewhere along the line I decided to write a novel based on his album\u00a0A Love Extreme. For a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"L Extreme Book Cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/LX-Space-Painting-Cover-FINAL-188x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2227,"url":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/lx-commentary-8-where-do-old-lovers-go\/","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":1},"title":"LX Commentary #8: Where Do Old Lovers Go?","author":"LBDG","date":"July 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The song may be about going away, but ironically it helped pull the musical concept of the book together. It was also one of my favorite chapters to write. The lyrical breadcrumbs showed me connections to other Benji Hughes songs so clearly it made me start seeking them elsewhere. Benji\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Behind the Scenes"","block_context":{"text":"Behind the Scenes","link":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/category\/behind-the-scenes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/SpacelandSetlist-149x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3429,"url":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/additions-to-the-lx-hughesniverse\/","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":2},"title":"Additions to the LX Hughesniverse","author":"LBDG","date":"February 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"L Extreme is billed as a novelization of the album A Love Extreme by Benji Hughes, though it actually pulls from his entire catalog through early 2021. January 31, 2025 marked the release of three new Benji Hughes jams via the soundtrack to the film Home Free. Since I spent\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Behind the Scenes"","block_context":{"text":"Behind the Scenes","link":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/category\/behind-the-scenes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-2025-07-17-at-10.35.15-PM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-2025-07-17-at-10.35.15-PM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-2025-07-17-at-10.35.15-PM.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2787,"url":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/remixing-heartman-songstress\/","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":3},"title":"Remixing Heartman & Songstress","author":"LBDG","date":"April 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"L Extreme\u00a0plays out in album order as a track-by-track adaptation of\u00a0A Love Extreme, but ironically following the song sequence generated a non-sequential narrative that loops back on itself in a series of flashbacks. Keeping score at home? Excluding framing devices, re-arranging the chapters into chronological story would be along the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Behind the Scenes"","block_context":{"text":"Behind the Scenes","link":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/category\/behind-the-scenes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Ballad of Heartman & Songstress -- a free novella by JL Civi based on the songs of Benji Hughes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/HS-JPG-723x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/HS-JPG-723x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/HS-JPG-723x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/HS-JPG-723x1024.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2339,"url":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/lx-commentary-13c-girl-in-the-tower-part-iii\/","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":4},"title":"LX Commentary #13c: Girl In The Tower (Part III)","author":"LBDG","date":"September 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Let's pick up where we left off with the doors. SAL + MON = Salmon. The CD version of the album Songs in the Key of Animals assigns these names to each disc. The LP version subtitles the sides. L Extreme the novel pays tribute with little signs on two\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Behind the Scenes"","block_context":{"text":"Behind the Scenes","link":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/category\/behind-the-scenes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/SalMonSITKOA-279x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2123,"url":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/lx-chapter-commentary-3-you-stood-me-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":5},"title":"LX Chapter Commentary #3: You Stood Me Up","author":"LBDG","date":"May 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"A dream, a frame story, and a flashback walk into a novel based on lyrics from a double album by Benji Hughes\u00a0who also stars as the protagonist.Kidding aside, the thrill of working on L Extreme was the kitchen-sink zaniness of the structure. As I began to identify the throughline of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Behind the Scenes"","block_context":{"text":"Behind the Scenes","link":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/category\/behind-the-scenes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Unknown.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=948"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2975,"href":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948\/revisions\/2975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nEven If
\nHow Many Birds?
\nCountry Love
\nBroadway (partial scat cover of the George Benson song)
\nLove Is A Razor
\nTurkeys with Guitars
\nWaiting For An Invitation
\nSo Much Better
\nDon’t Forget to Write Me When You’re Famous
\nOysters (Solo Piano)
\nMohammed’s Radio (Warren Zevon cover w\/ Jackson Browne)
\nPlay It All Night Long (Warren Zevon w\/ Jackson Browne)
\nAll You’ve Got To Do Is Fall In Love (w\/ Jackson Browne)
\nSolo Jackson Browne Song
\nSolo Jonathan Wilson Song
\n———–
\nGirl In The Tower<\/p>\n