ANN ARBOR – Jeff Daniels closed out his most recent tour with a performance at the Michigan Theater on Saturday, bringing his signature brand of humor, wit and heart to the stage. The show began with Daniels taking the stage to perform two songs that leaned heavily on the comedic side: one about his wife reading "Fifty Shades of Grey" and the other about his distaste of the "real people, not actors" tagline in the Chevy commercials that play almost constantly.
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It was not long before the special guests began to take the stage, including Daniels' son, Ben, his daughter-in-law, Amanda, and several members of The Ben Daniels Band. Two of the five songs we listed as being our favorite were performed: "How 'Bout We Take Our Pants Off and Relax?," which, according to Daniels, actually originated from an ice-breaker Ryan Reynolds used on the set of "Paper Man" when the two of them kept bumping into one another as they tried to pass; and "Back When You Were Into Me," sung with haunting grace as always by Amanda and one that got its title and story from the set of "The Newsroom" when Daniels was speaking to one of the set dressers.
The show began with Ben joining his father as the chairs slowly filled with more guests and ended in reverse fashion, with father and son performing "Matter of Timin'," which was written when Ben was 3 and could not have marked a better ending to the show. I cannot tell you how many times I've seen Daniels perform now, but I always get something new out of every performance. Daniels isn't simply an actor with a guitar; he is the very definition of a musician. He commands the stage as soon as he enters, displaying confidence in himself, but also displaying his sense of humor throughout every song.