Michael Franti Makes Himself at Home in the Crowd

At the venue that never sleeps, Busters brought in another living legend to rattle the Distillery District.  Lexington experienced the Michael Franti and Spearhead phenomenon last night that one will not soon forget. An energetic crowd greeted the band with an emotional fever pitch that took the show off the ground before it started. 

In the midst of an emotional Stay Human, Michael channeled some Louie Armstrong into What A Wonderful World. Another familiar cover was Steve Miller Band’s The Joker (perhaps as a subliminal hurrah for the Steve slayer) after an acoustic jam out. The guitar setup was incredible, all wireless system with at least 14 guitars in the cycle.

Michael created a feel good medley that though completely diverse from each other, made perfect sense. Starting with Sublime’s What I Got, Michael mentioned that the one song everyone was singing in the yard of San Quentin was the theme of Sesame Street. The Cookie Monster took over Michael’s body during the song, taking us back to good times. That flowed right into the title track of the new album, Sound of Sunshine, a personal favorite. To come full circle, the close was back into What I Got with a torrid guitar shredding exchange, building the energy from the spiritual journey to another echelon.

For the second night in a row at Busters, the front man gets close to the crowd by inviting some guest dancers. “Michael Franti is the man of my dreams, makes the whole crowds wishes come true.” Candice Healy gasped after her brush with Michael on stage.  Later on, Franti came out into the crowd and went into Smells Like Teen Spirit. He brought up a fan who was in a car wreck on her way to the show to lend support on Hey Hey Hey . 

Franti did connect with the crowd as he talked about him shoeless journey that just hit the 10 year mark. He noted that the Soles4Souls charity can turn $1 into a pair of shoes, http://www.soles4souls.org/ or text 20222 with the word "Franti" to give a $5 donation, putting shoes on an entire family. 

The close was with the familiar  
Say Hey, extended to solidify the bond between the band and the crowd. After the show, Franti stayed around and let anyone who wanted to meet him do so. Franti’s connection with his crowd is incredible, leaving each fan with a piece of him to take with them. 

It’s Rock and Roll and a whole lotta soul!