A few years ago, while

A few years ago, while driving to get green chilies for my chicken
enchiladas, I happened upon a Saturday interview with Mason Jennings on NPR.
When I arrived home and threw the green chilies into the mix, I turned on the
computer and looked up the artist. The site was easy to cruise and I quickly
found his tour venue. Columbia, Missouri was next on the list so I called one of
my best friends and invited her to come to a concert with me and invited myself
to stay with her. I became a fan while driving down Missouri State Highway 160.
It was cemented at Mojo's. He came with little entourage and even less
pretention. I'll admit that at first he reminded me of a better looking Adam
Sandler- one that had been tweaked here and there. And, since I am being honest
about first impressions, his voice made me think of Adam when singing his
creative little ditties. As I listened though, Adam faded and Mason made himself
known through the recipe of creative lyrics and blues infused music. His set was
superb. The laid back smoking and drinking that surrounded me was reminiscent of
my college days when we would get into the bars to see the comedy sets and then
dance 'til close. Well, and maybe bum a smoke and a buy a beer or two. I was
really thrown through time as I walked into the bathroom: plywood stalls and
band posters of local gigs wallpapering the cinder blocks. After the music he
hung around and talked to people and politely signed CD covers, napkins; on
anything that a person presented he nicely penned his name. His music has
matured a bit since the first CD: varying instruments add depth to his creative
acoustic fingers and back-up vocals give fulness to the voice. The music still
comes across as simple, but that comes from good mixing as a careful ear hears
the subtle complexities in the picking and playing. Guess who is going to be
swinging through (o.k., so it's really 210 miles away, but close enough)? Next
week, I hope to be arriving in time to see Mason again at Ego's. Wanna know if
he's gonna be near you? Check out his site for a taste of his music (Ballad for
My One True Love, Isabel, Forgiveness, and Sorry Signs on Cash Machines are my
personal favorites). You won't be disappointed.