Benjamin Tod Shows Us Why You Never Miss A Sunday Show

Welcome back to another concert review.

Honestly, where do we even start?  How about with this, this is simple, this is true and this is the perfect way to start this review before you read anything else.

GO FUCKING SEE BENJAMIN TOD ANY CHANCE YOU GET!

Ok, now that that's out of the way.  Let's bring you on the journey of the evening.

We want to thank Bowery Boston yet again for having us out to Royale for this show, as we always say "never miss a Sunday show," and this did not disappoint.

When we pulled up to the venue there was a few people standing out in the rain, those are the real heroes of the story I think and this was about 45 mins til doors.  So, the big wusses we are, we walked over to Ghost Light Tavern a few doors down to get some food and a few beers before making our way over.  Shoutout Ghost Light Tavern ... sponsorships available ... 

Once we were done, we headed to the Royale for the festivities, it was about 15 minutes before the evenings opener, Tommy Prine, took the stage and I am not going to mix words, the crowd was ummm thin to say the least.  It made me sad to see how thin the crowd was, but we will get back to this later.

Let's talk about Tommy Prine.  If you don't know by the last name alone, Tommy is the son of the late John Prine.  If you don't know who John Prine is and know anything about music, you need to stop reading.  Bring up Spotify or wherever you get music and just listen to the whole collection and I dare you not to say "well holy shit, I missed the boat on this one."  John Prine was the greatest and most profound singer/songwriter of all time.  I can say that right?  He was the absolute greatest.  But this isn't about John, it's about Tommy.

We have been wanting to see Tommy for years now since his last record came out in 2023.  This guy has got it.  

He was solo acoustic and played for about 45/50 mins and you could hear a pin drop in the venue when he started to sing and play his songs and tell his stories.  That's when you can tell a singer/songwriter has the audience captivated, and he surely did.  By this point that thin crowd from earlier, finally started to grow.  If you came to this show and missed any of Tommy, you're a fool.  It's that simple.  Never miss the opener, ever.  He played all originals except for a version of 'If We Were Vampires' by Jason Isbell, probably one of two Isbell songs that don't make me want to take a long walk off a short pier, so thank you Tommy for that one.  Honestly, Prine's version, was worlds better, and I am not saying that as an Isbell "hater".  He really made it his own and not all can cover someone else's song and show the same emotion and enthusiasm as he did with this.  Kudos to you Tommy.  It was wonderful meeting Tommy after the show as well and getting a few minutes to chat.

Now, for the headliner.  Benjamin Tod & Lost Dog Street Band.  Like I said previously, if you ever have the chance to see them.  Do not even think twice, just go.  That's all you have to do and the show itself will do the rest of it.

I have always been interested in seeing Tod live.  I will be honest, the recordings do not compare to it live.  On the albums, I was always a little unsure if I would like it, I was unsure how it would connect live.  Sometimes, it just doesn't, but man was that not the case here.  From the first note to the very last, Benjamin Tod commanded the room as if he was the first, the last and the only person who would ever grace that stage again.  You may say, "that sounds arrogant of him"  this was not arrogance.  This was confidence, this was style and this was absolute fucking grace.  

Now remember that crowd I mentioned earlier?  Well by now, it's even bigger.  And they came to clap and stomp and holler and sing as loud as they could.  A venue that had a few hundred people sounded like a venue that had a few thousand and that's no exaggeration or joke.  The fans in the crowd knew every word to every song.  It was almost like a church sermon and we were hearing the word from Benjamin Tod.

If I would have wrote this article when I got home from the show, it would have been all pure adrenaline and there would not have been any criticism, and honestly this isn't criticism, just us being a baby about the show.  I wish it would have been longer.  That's it, that's the only "hiccup" of the evening.  Show should have been double what it was.

So, little insider baseball here for ya, and maybe this is my public outcry to get him on the podcast.  But, we had been reached out too about an episode with Benjamin Tod, and never heard back after sending a yes and some dates.  So, if that PR team is still representing or a new one, give us a time and we would love to have him,  There is so much we want and need to know.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, leave us a like, or comment or whatever and we will see you down the road! 

Benjamin Tod Setlist for 10/11/2026

1) Vengenance & Grace

2) End of My Rope

3) Long Gone

4) War Inside of Me

5) Sorry for the Things

6) Border Jumper

7) Ragged Old Truck

8) The Mountain

9) Hell I Have

10) Outlaw Shit

11) Using Again

12) Mary Could You

13) My Pride

14) If You Leave Me Now

15) September Doves

ENCORE

16) Shooting Star

17) Wyoming