Dan Bern Live in Seattle

Going to see Dan Bern live is like hanging out with your goofy and insightful brother. His stage presence practically eliminates the performer-audience barrier and, next thing you know, you're singing and yodeling along.

Dan Bern's crowd is made up partly of white men who look like they could use a visit from the Queer Eye guys, and partly of stylish 20-something lesbians who were introduced to his work back when he was touring with Ani Difranco.

On this particular evening in cool, rainy Seattle, this odd amalgamation of people gathered eager for some good songs, and ready to yodel.

The show kicked off with Dan talking away about commercials and cracking jokes about songwriters who sell their music to advertising companies. After speculating about the few products he may consider selling songs for, he easily turned the crowd into a pack of giggly warblers.

Clearly one of Dan Bern’s biggest attributes as a performer is his ability to instantly bond with his audience, a quality so many performers strive for. This was not a show featuring a guy on a stage telling stories to an organized group of audience members. It was more of an ongoing conversation between one man and his hundred or so friends who he hasn’t seen in a while.

His banter ran through everything from a story about a woman blasting NASCAR for continuing despite the current gas crisis, to directing bastardized Shakespearean quotes at the cow skull hanging from the wall at the rear of the stage.