Ooh, I’ve been loving Ben Harper for a long while. His pray-full, beautiful voice, his amazing string work, his definite but softly spoken groove, his afro, his teeth. I have just watched PLEASURE + PAIN, a beautifully filmed DVD from 2002, portraying some of that magical music and personal charisma of Ben Harper, capturing his soft fire, mostly on the road (“an intensified form of practice”) and some off the road moments, with his mom (single mother, also a musician) and grand parents (Ben Harper literally grew up in his Grandpa’s music store, surrounded by the wildest shapes of string instruments, which were his first natural toys). This DVD opens up a pretty wide window into Ben’s rich and varied musical personality. You can sure hear his passion. In his wildest shows, you see him sitting on a chair, playing the strings on his lap, and putting his soul on the line, while The INNOCENT CRIMINALS support his wildest screams. Damn, he’s hot.