CONCERT REVIEW - Matt Nathanson/Mat KearneyMarch 27, 2009 * Bellarmine Collge * Louisville, KY
MP3: Matt Nathanson - Church Clothes
“You guys watch Gossip Girl?” a grinning Matt Nathanson asked the crowd at Bellarmine College on Friday night, just one song into his solo acoustic set. “I love that sh*t!” he exclaimed. “I am sure that John Television – or whatever his name was – knew that one day his little invention would broadcast ridiculous teenage nakedness in prime time.”
Such commentary is appropriate coming from Nathanson, a man who has built his career around songs that often soundtrack shows like Gossip Girl. To just hear his lyrics, one could be convinced that Nathanson must have a recording studio in his bedroom closet – used to concoct musical recreations of his every romantic endeavor. His songs yell with longing and lust, carried by Nathanson’s simultaneously strong but vulnerable tenor soar. It is a formula that would get annoying fast if it wasn’t clear that Nathanson knows exactly what he is doing and doesn’t take himself too seriously.
Throughout his 90-minute set Friday night, Nathanson took stabs at his ego – “All my songs are about girls…I’m such a loser…” – and multiple shots at his own musical catalogue, admitting that different selections he was playing were very close to songs by Rick Springfield and Enrique Iglesias. On stage Nathanson is a flirty, singing comedian to who little is sacred. Whether he was goofing on the Twilight books or taking a quasi-political shot at the institution that was paying him to perform (he openly mocked a promotional poster for the school he found backstage that featured only white people), Nathanson makes sure that the audience is entertained between the songs as much as they might be during.
And the songs are nothing to ignore. Though he may be a new face to the VH1 crowd, Nathanson has been playing his sensitive-guitar-guy rock in coffee shops and auditoriums for the better part of two decades and he is a seasoned performer with a genuinely beautiful voice. His set consisted of a large chunk of his latest release Some Mad Hope, along with a smattering of back catalogue – including the excellent 12-year-old song “Church Clothes,” and his covers of James’ “Laid” and Prince’s “Starfish & Coffee.”
Nathanson closed the evening with his current radio hit “Come on, Get Higher” and an enthusiastic crowd sing-along of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
Mat Kearney opened the evening with a 45-minute mix of songs from his major-label debut record Nothing Left to Lose and tunes from his newest project, set to be released in May. Kearney had a little more trouble captivating the audience with his one man/one acoustic set-up than Nathanson, but proved that he is capable as both a writer and singer. This was Kearney’s first performance in nearly a year, as he has been writing and recording his new record. He graciously thanked the crowd and ended his set with the title track from his debut to much applause and sing-along.
Such commentary is appropriate coming from Nathanson, a man who has built his career around songs that often soundtrack shows like Gossip Girl. To just hear his lyrics, one could be convinced that Nathanson must have a recording studio in his bedroom closet – used to concoct musical recreations of his every romantic endeavor. His songs yell with longing and lust, carried by Nathanson’s simultaneously strong but vulnerable tenor soar. It is a formula that would get annoying fast if it wasn’t clear that Nathanson knows exactly what he is doing and doesn’t take himself too seriously.
Throughout his 90-minute set Friday night, Nathanson took stabs at his ego – “All my songs are about girls…I’m such a loser…” – and multiple shots at his own musical catalogue, admitting that different selections he was playing were very close to songs by Rick Springfield and Enrique Iglesias. On stage Nathanson is a flirty, singing comedian to who little is sacred. Whether he was goofing on the Twilight books or taking a quasi-political shot at the institution that was paying him to perform (he openly mocked a promotional poster for the school he found backstage that featured only white people), Nathanson makes sure that the audience is entertained between the songs as much as they might be during.
And the songs are nothing to ignore. Though he may be a new face to the VH1 crowd, Nathanson has been playing his sensitive-guitar-guy rock in coffee shops and auditoriums for the better part of two decades and he is a seasoned performer with a genuinely beautiful voice. His set consisted of a large chunk of his latest release Some Mad Hope, along with a smattering of back catalogue – including the excellent 12-year-old song “Church Clothes,” and his covers of James’ “Laid” and Prince’s “Starfish & Coffee.”
Nathanson closed the evening with his current radio hit “Come on, Get Higher” and an enthusiastic crowd sing-along of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
Mat Kearney opened the evening with a 45-minute mix of songs from his major-label debut record Nothing Left to Lose and tunes from his newest project, set to be released in May. Kearney had a little more trouble captivating the audience with his one man/one acoustic set-up than Nathanson, but proved that he is capable as both a writer and singer. This was Kearney’s first performance in nearly a year, as he has been writing and recording his new record. He graciously thanked the crowd and ended his set with the title track from his debut to much applause and sing-along.
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