August 12-18, 2004

musicpicks

Ari Hest

ROCK/POP

If you've got an aversion to large venues and brash crowds, now is the time to catch Bronx boy Ari Hest. Since 1999, he's toured the country with worn shoes and a Taylor guitar, on the way playing The Point several times barefoot and acoustic. But this spring the erstwhile DIY singer-songwriter signed on with Columbia Records. Bigger venues and crowds of ornery John Mayer fans are likely to follow, not to mention a shredding of any indie cred the fella had. But really, what's cred matter when Someone To Tell is so damn good? Sure, some of the new album is rehashed from his hard-to-get-anymore self-released records, but Hest chooses wisely which songs to revisit. One can't listen to the impressively produced rocker "They're on to Me" and deny it is infinitely better than earlier takes, and moreover deserving of a wider audience. The same goes for new cuts like the midtempo "Anne Marie" and "A Fond Farewell." His Grape Street gig this weekend may be your last chance to see him in a room as intimate as his music.

Sun., Aug. 15, 6 p.m., $10, all ages, with Rich Price and Griphon House, Grape Street Pub, 4100 Main St., Manayunk, 866-468-7619.

—John Vettese