I am great admirer of Dan Bern! A friend took me to see him in Philly a few years ago. I had not heard of him before. Well, at the start of the show it was clear there was something wrong with the sound mix. The drums were drowning out all Bern's guitar, and his mike was fuzzy. Some members if the independent-spirited audience started calling out between songs that there was a problem. Dan tried fixing it, adjusting his levels right on stage, very calm and casual. When it became evident that there wasn't going to be a quick fix, he said, "What the hell? Let's just play acoustic." He invited the entire audience (about 500) to just leave their seats and scoot right up to sit on the stage around him, and played acoustic. His drummer played brushes on an aluminum folding chair. It was fantastic...a very creative solution to the problem, and it made the atmosphere warm and personal and a thousand times more intimate. After that show I have remained a big fan. He's smart and clever and earnest and funny.