Back from his US tour, Brian Bethke did a show of old favorites, and even older unreleased songs written over the past fifteen years, as well as a few new tracks. It was great hearing lots of music I have never heard him sing before. It was also great hear his new stuff. The Acoustic Cafe was filled when we walked in. We slid into the final empty booth.

Acoustic Cafe is a nice venue. The audience noise always seems fairly low. With Brian's setup it seemed like the sound was a little fuzzy and boomy on the louder moments. Not bad enough to complain about, but a little distracting. The audience was tuned in by the time Brian took the stage. The front tables were filled with tables of fans who knew the lyrics of the songs better than Brian did. It was all the makings of a good show and Brian didn't disappoint.

For me, Brian is particularly enjoyable to hear live. I like it so much better than his recorded work. I understand that as a musician, you get sick of your own stuff. I mean, how many times have one of the Van Zants played Sweet Home Alabama since 1973? Or, maybe he feels it is the perceived value of getting multiple musicians on one plastic disk. Brian likes to change up his recorded works by bringing in other artists, background vocalists and a lot of other things. But, I feel that gets in the way of what I really like, which is Brian's voice and his guitar…

• Check out the rest of the Bethke review (with pictures and video) over at the Freaks & Geeks blog, originating from somewhere in Chippewa Falls, Wis.