I got to the Dame a little too late to catch Daniel Martin Moore (what? like I was going to skip 30 Rock?) but I got there just in time for Ben Sollee. Now, I’d never really listened to Sollee’s material but was more than happy to check him out live.

MP3: Ben Sollee – A Change is Gonna Come

Ben Sollee is an interesting fellow. He’s like that friend you had in high school who clearly spent too much time practicing guitar/piano and could now play just about anything from ear. Ben’s a cello devotee, playing it with both a unique style and complete mastery. Whereas most times I’ve seen a cello on stage, it’s been to supply long sustained bass notes, Ben used it most like a violin with wide range.

But where Ben Sollee’s music gets really interesting is its style. At times it’s like Andrew Bird and sounds utterly fascinating to me. However, he seems drawn to a style closely resembling Jack Johnson or Ben Harper — something which is very not interesting. So part of my experience at his show was seeing that Ben might be the missing link of Bonnaroo. He connects the main stage mainstream “blah” with the side stage weirdness.

But I did enjoy Ben’s set. He was a lot of fun, clearly enjoyed what he was doing and had some good songs. I particularly liked “It’s Not Impossible.” Also he had guitar supplied by Justin Craig of Scourge of the Sea/These United States, so that’s another way to win me over.