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Michael Knott, largely against his wishes, has received the lucrative title of Maverick of Christian Music for quite a few years now. Through his poetic and often dark lyrics, Knott has raised more than a few eyebrows, and his stage antics at venues such as Cornerstone and Atlanta Fest have often made the masses question his sanity (For example, one night at The Strand in Atlanta, Knott brought a volunteer onstage, tied him up in duct tape, and pushed him into the screaming crowd. Perhaps the title of Maverick is well-deserved after all). With all these legends circulating about these stage performances, though, it's interesting to note that neither Knott nor his bands L.S.U. or Aunt Bettys have had a live album, aside from a few live tracks on L.S.U.'s 1995 retrospective Bring it Down Now and the Bettys' independent release Ford Supersonic. This changes with the release of Live in Nash-Vegas, a no-frills-attached, single take recording of Knott on his acoustic tour in the autumn of 1999. For the majority of the shows on this tour, Knott appeared alone, armed with only his sparkly-sticker-decorated acoustic guitar. However, in Nashville, Steve Hindalong, drummer for The Choir and longtime friend and bandmate of Knott, showed up to play percussion. What's most interesting about Live in Nash-Vegas is how well Knott's electric songs, sometimes accompanied with screams and distortion on his albums, translate into folky, coffeehouse numbers. Songs like "This is the Healing" and "Die Baby Die" actually sound better in their acoustic incarnations, and only a few songs ("Star Baby," "Rock Stars on H") don't make the transition so well. Of course, Knott also performs several songs that were originally acoustic - these all sound great live, most notably "Rocket and a Bomb" and "Sugar Mama." Knott is famous as a lyricist for basing his songs on the weird characters he runs into near his home in Orange County, CA, and Live in Nash-Vegas gives us the pleasure of hearing him explain several of his songs ("Jan the Weatherman," "John Barrymore, Jr." and "Kitty Courtesy") in track-length introductions. It's in these tracks that Knott best displays his congeniality and charismatic wit. Fans of L.S.U. and Knott's solo work will, of course, want to snatch this gem up as soon as they can, but it also wouldn't make a bad introduction to his vast body of work--certainly, in my opinion, it would make a better introduction than last year's Definitive Collection. Michial Farmer 3/13/2000
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