THE BEAT-MAN WAY

Once again, Reverend Beat-Man and his pal Delaney Davidson amazed and delighted in Santa Fe rocking a hopped-up crowd at Little Wing.

Instead of doing an opening-act/star-time arrangement, Beat-Man and Davidson played together both doubling on guitar and drums and trading off on lead vocals.

Like last year's show at Corazon, the set leaned heavy on Beat-Man's Surreal Folk Blues Gospel Trash (Volumes 1 and 2) and Get On Your Knees. as well as Davidson's Self-Decapitation. A lion's share of the songs deal with God, the Devil, Hell and salvation

While not as charismatic as the reverend, Davidson is a remarkable performer. The New Zealand native uses tape loops to subtly and almost seamlessly create a multi-layered sound. He'll be singing a part then all of a sudden you hear harmonies and wonder for a few seconds "how's he doing that?" And even though I'd thought that Nirvana had taken the song "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" to its ultimate level, Davidson's interpretation of "In the Pines" (a very close cousin of "Sleep") shows the song still has strange corridors to explore.

Beat-Man and Davidson are playing in Denver tonight, then on to Austin, New Orleans, Memphis and Nashville next week.

Is Nashville ready for Rev. Beat-Man?

More snapshots from the Santa Fe show are HERE.