Modern Minstrels

Matt Nathanson x2

Got to see my absolute favorite live performer, Matt Nathanson, not once, but twice this past weekend. That man can fucking put on a show. I don't care what kind of music you listen to or whether you normally go to concerts or not; you absolutely must see a Matt Nathanson show at least once in your life.

Friday's opener was Paula Kelley. She was alright. It's kind of funny how she has this really high, sing-songy voice, but the content of the songs she sang was more on the depressing/hearbroke side of things. Saturday's opener was Two Sheds. I enjoyed them quite a bit. Standard folk sound, but I really liked Caitlin's voice.

Matt was spectacular both nights. His ability to interact with the crowd is unparalleled. It's this ability that keeps his show very fresh. Normally I'd be very wary of going to see the same show two nights in a row because you know you're going to end up hearing close to the same set, and often even the same jokes/stories. Not so with Matt. The two sets only shared a handful of songs and he has a never ending supply of amusing stories and not to mention all the stuff that takes place on the spot as he's chatting with the crowd. I'm so glad I attended both shows.

One of my favorite lines from the first night was when he asked the crowd for requests and some girl asks for Answering Machine. His response was, "Come on, don't ask for that. You know I play that at every show". It was great. It really annoys me when people keep yelling out songs you know the band is going to play. Oh, he was also ripping on James Blunt the one night, which was hilarious.

Another thing about Matt is he loves the 80's. You can always count on a fun sing-a-long of a couple 80's tunes. We got to help him belt out Journey's Don't Stop Believin' on Friday and Suvivor's Eye of the Tiger on Saturday. We also covered a song by The Smiths for his wife and though not an 80's song did an excellent cover of Patty Griffin's Foregiveness.

While the covers are certainly lots of fun, the real good stuff is his original tunes. Some of the highlight songs for me were Illusions, New Coats and New Hats, coming down and playing Suspended without a microphone, and his new song Detroit Waves.

You can experience some of Matt's live show by picking up his new live album, At The Point. Or by checking out these very high quality recordings of a show on this past tour. But my recommendation is that you go see him in person this fall when he hits the road in support of the new album he's working on.