Images: Joey Briggs, Brock Frabbiele, Divided Heaven, Bobby Meader October 23, 2013 at The Dive

Weeknight shows don’t always draw big crowds, particularly 21+ plus shows aimed at an audience of people who need to be up early for work. So I was happy to see the respectable turnout at The Dive’s October 23^rd show with Joey Briggs, Divided Heaven, Brock Frabbiele and Bobby Meader.

I hadn’t seen local folk singer Bobby Meader play in a long time, and this night, he was sans backing band. He’s come a long way with his songwriting (and harmonica playing) since he first picked up an acoustic and started playing live last year, and I was stoked to see the crowd singing along with him on a few numbers.

Next up was Jeff Berman (aka Divided Heaven). It’s only been a month since the singer/songwriter last played Vegas but it was my first time seeing him live and I found myself impressed by his catchy, acoustic hooks. He’s got a ton of free music on his website so give him a listen, and don’t miss him next time he rolls back into town, which will likely be soon based on how often he hits the road.

Hometown hero Brock Frabbiele, who opened for Divided Heaven at the singer/songwriter’s last Dive show, entertained us with crowd favorites including “Turn Your Television Off” and “Cuz Happy Songs Suck.” Frabbiele’s lyrical content has become much more relatable and honest over the years, and he always keeps it fresh.

Finally, Joey Briggs was up. This guy is damn comfortable on the mic, with a tremendous stage presence built up after years of fronting punk rockers The Briggs, and refined during his stint on this past summer’s Warped Tour acoustic stage. Great folksy songs with delightful imagery made up his set. Give “Happy Being Miserable” a listen on his bandcamp, to really show his range. He also played a 100 year old folk song “All for me Grog” which can be found on his The Traveling Salesman, Pariah, Me LP. I had never heard the song so stripped down and awesomely raw.

-Tyler Newton | http://500px.com/spottedlens