Belly Up to the Band

During Devendra Banhart's near-sold-out show at the Belly Up Tavern on April 27, the performer said he needed a beer and then left the stage for a few minutes.

While onstage, Banhart asked if there were any songwriters in the crowd. When about 100 hands went up, Banhart said, "Oh, shit! I didn't think there'd be so many. Well, this guy had his hand up first." Banhart called the guy to the stage, handed over his electric guitar, and told him to do a song.

The audience member's name was Andy, and he was shaking. He played a halfway decent guitar riff and sang a song with catchy lyrics (he rhymed "confound" with "dumbfound"), but his voice was horrid. The drummer came out and hit the congas while Banhart sipped his beer and smiled. After about eight minutes, the guy gave up. The crowd cheered his effort.

The band, all with beards and looking like Matisyahus, came back onstage. A few songs later, they asked for a conga player. A guy named Ross came out of the crowd and jumped onstage. He sounded great.