Better Than Ezra (with Nine Days) at Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center on March 27 2026
Better Than Ezra, the New Orleans quartet consisting of Kevin Griffin (lead vocals, guitar), Tom Drummond (bass, backing vocals), Michael Jerome (drums, backing vocals), and James Arthur Payne Jr. (guitar, backing vocals) is still going strong, as they proved Friday night in front of a near-capacity crowd at Great Barrington, Massachusetts’ historic Mahaiwe Theatre, which Griffin pronounced correctly, saying they were “glad, honored, and humbled to be playing here, and we hope we do it justice.” Although the band’s overall sound has changed a bit over the past three decades, their performance energy and ability to entertain and captivate an audience has remained intact. Gone were the loud electric guitars that defined their “alternative” sound of the 90s, replaced by acoustic guitars (as was the case with the opener Nine Days).
As the lights dimmed, the band entered the stage to a recorded introduction of “Ode to the Sun (intro)” from 2010: A Space Odyssey, seemingly signaling something epic was about to occur. From their opening number “King of New Orleans,” it was clear the stellar drummer Michael Jerome and solid bassist Tom Drummond were locked in and fueled up. Although lead vocalist Kevin Griffin was at the helm steering the show, these two were the engine, driving the music where it needed to go. Shout out to the sound man, who had them zeroed in perfectly, as every drum could be heard and felt in succinct precision with the thump of Drummond’s woody acoustic bass. Jerome had many impressive moments during the night, including the intricate percussive drum beat during “Sincerely, Me,” a drum breakdown (with his hands) in “Desperately Wanting,” and a multiple cowbell solo during the final encore “In the Blood,” which had stage hands coming from all directions adding “more cowbells,” while Jerome continued feverishly banging away without missing a beat.
The band adeptly played most of their popular songs during the night, including their mega-hit “Good” (it still “slaps” the same as it did back in the mid-nineties), which seemed to kick things into gear and, from there, the band didn’t let up. During “Grateful” and “I Don’t Smoke” (the most obscure cover of the night), Griffin left the stage and walked around down front and up the aisles, singing along while high fiving, fist-bumping, pointing, and pausing for selfies with various attendees. The band played some choice covers that Griffin had explained earlier would hopefully “bring you back to a good time and a certain era.” Smattered through the night were familiar tunes from The Violent Femmes, Gorillaz, The Pixies, Howie Day, James, INXS, and Sublime, and diverse snippets of songs from Led Zeppelin’s “Over the Hills and Far Away” and “Stairway to Heaven” to the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” and Naughty By Nature’s “O.P.P.” (effortlessly rapped by multi-talented guitarist and backup singer James Arthur Payne Jr.). The upbeat atmosphere and collective vibe was palpable throughout the night.
Although the band had played over 20 songs during their official set, they came back for five more encores, with Griffin coming out first for a few acoustic numbers, including The Pixies “Here Comes Your Man,” explaining that he tries to play something from area artists at each show, and they were the closest band he could find (don’t tell James Taylor or Arlo Guthrie of this slight). He also performed fan favorite “Porcelain,” before the rest of the band joined him for three more selections. As they strummed the last chord of “In the Blood,” Griffin remarked, “Thank you for supporting us tonight. What a beautiful town, a beautiful theatre. God bless, and goodnight!” before a seven beat accent ending gestured by Jerome, who flipped his stick into the air and caught it for one final fantastic feat. Patrons applauded and cheered them off, then exited the venue in great spirits as Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “So Long, Farewell” played over the PA. It was definitely a night where the Berkshires Hills were “alive with sound of music.”
More information about Better Than Ezra at: https://www.betterthanezra.com/
The Nine Days duo of guitarist and singer John (“with an h”) Hampson and percussionist Jon (“without an h”) Loree opened the show with some well-executed and sung pop tunes, immediately getting the audience warmed up with a one-word sing-along part of “Holiday.” Hampson knew how to work the room, using humorous banter, telling song stories, and pulling on heartstrings (like when he dedicated “I’d Go Crazy” to a fan named Scott, who’d “been there since 1986” and who’d “traveled a long way to see the show tonight”). During a solo performance of “Snapshots,” he mentioned how the lyrics fell together quickly with a phrase he used to say to his friends, which became the chorus: “Life is the stories we tell / that you know so well / Looking back over your shoulder / when we get older.” Percussionist Jon Loree returned sporting (and advertising) the latest Nine Days “unisex mid-sleeved jersey t-shirt,” then brought Gin Blossom drummer Andy Herrin to the play the shaker on “If I Am,” which Hampson considered one of his best compositions, although most were there to hear their big hit “Absolutely (Story of a Girl),” which he explained came about from his complicated relationship with his longtime girlfriend (Teresa Savino) at the time. After a particularly tense spat that left him angry, he soon heard her laughing and couldn’t help but realize how much he absolutely loved her. “I ended up marrying that girl,” he explained (which received a collective “Ahhh…”), “who is here somewhere – Honey? – Well, I don’t want to embarrass her. Come by the merch table, and maybe she’ll say hello.” He conceded that the smart thing to do would be to close the set on that song (having had the crowd sing along with three extra choruses), but ended with a new one “Drop of Doubt” after cleverly having everyone test out whether he uploaded it right to the Shazam app. More information about Nine Days at: https://ninedaysband.com/
Better Than Ezra SETLIST:
King of New Orleans
Misunderstood
I Wanna Be Sedated (Ramones cover)/ Sincerely, Me
Live Again
Feel Good Inc. (Gorillaz cover)
A Lifetime
Good
Live a Little (Chaz Cardigan cover)
Collide (Howie Day cover)
Blister in the Sun (Violent Femmes cover with Led Zeppelin intros)
Extra Ordinary / I Can’t Feel My Face / What I Got
Crazy Lucky
Grateful
I Don’t Smoke (Kenny Gray cover)
Laid (James cover)
Juicy / Rapper’s Delight / O.P.P.
The Great Unknown
Never Tear Us Apart (INXS cover)
Desperately Wanting
ENCORES:
Kevin, acoustic solo:
Here Comes Your Man (Pixies cover)
Porcelain
Full band:
At the Stars
Coyote / Streetside Jesus
In the Blood (with extended cowbell solo)
Nine Days Setlist:
Holiday
A Girl in California
Snapshots
If I Am
Loneliness (unknown song)
I’d Go Crazy
Absolutely (Story of a Girl)
Drop of Doubt