Matt Nathanson - September '07

Matt Nathanson CBus Concer Review

So, my wife (ex-wife) and I checked out the Matt Nathanson show at The Basement in Columbus over the weekend. Here's my review of the sights and sounds.

The Venue:

Where to start with this place. It truly is a basement to another bar. The awesome thing is the main bar on top is called the House of Crave - naming rights purchased by White Castle (Now A&R Music Bar)... that in itself is redonk. The place was small, and hot, and dirty. Which I thought made it kind of cool, sans the presence of any seating that wouldn't transfer an STD directly to you if you sat on it. But the drinks were reasonably priced which is always a plus. The stage set-up was interesting with it being elevated from it's own ground level, but that was lower than the rest of the bar. Kind of a pit in front of the stage. Definitely not an optimum set-up for ease of view for the entire crowd... large columns were an issue as well. They did have Closed Circuit viewing on 2 TV's at the bar, but the picture was not very good at all. The sound was acceptable when you were close to the stage, but it wasn't pumped into the back of the bar. In fact, there was also a band playing at the HoC (A&R) upstairs and the sound was filtering down in the back of the bar where an internal open air staircase was present. Overall, it was dirty cool, but I wouldn't go back unless I REALLY wanted to see someone there (Been back multiple times unfortunately). The inability to enjoy the main act and have accessibility to the bar was a downer.

The Crowd:

This was an interesting mix of folks. From preppy college kids to greasy guidos. Quite some range. The show was sold out btw. It was a very participatory crowd, which Matt was appreciative of. As anyone who has been to his shows know, it's a sing along. Due to a young fan (about 9 years old) right at the foot of the stage, Matt tried to keep it PG... but he's just not capable of that for long. There was also a crazy older lady who put her hand up for an entire song like she was in elementary school needing to ask a question... Matt acknowledged her in between songs and she replied "You and I will meet!" It was pretty creepy. OH YEAH, there was a guy there in a derby hat and a RUSH t-shirt!

Opening Acts:

Kate Voegele opened. She really did have a nice un-unique sound from what I could hear in the back of the bar. However, she talked between EVERY song. She attempted to create dialog with the crowd, but it was very uncomfortable. She tried telling stories, but she rambled like a junior high cheerleader... really brought down her show.

Cary Brothers followed. Couldn't hear him much... again taking advantage of my opportunity to drink... and trying to watch the West Virginia v. South Florida game between listening to my wife (ex-wife). Sorry honey. The only thing I took from him is that he called The Basement a "dark, dirty little place". Somewhat funny, true observation.

Headliner:

I must say right off the top that this may have been the BEST Nathanson show I've seen... and I've seen him 6 (more like 11 now) times now. If you would have given me the set-list before hand I would have sighed, but it was really entertaining. He played all but 1 track (Sooner Surrender) off the new album. He started with "To the Beat of Our Noisy Hearts" which had a convenient opening for him to come in after the band started.

Let me just get out of the way that the band was absolutely solid. They kept making gestures to the soundboard to adjust volumes, but it sounded great from where I was (Center stage about 20 feet back, on a stair). It was very loud... which I like.

Matt was his usual comedic self, having constant dialog with the crowd. No mention of a musical orgy though... may have been too hot. Everyone in the pit area (including the band) was drenched with sweat, which while it was completely disgusting, was kind of cool. Matt read from a trashy romance novel that he had picked up in Cleveland. He also thanked the crowd several times for their vocal efforts.

As I said, the set was mostly the new stuff. He also played "I Saw", "Suspended", "Pretty the World", "Lucky Boy" and "Sad Songs" off of .... Beneath These Fireworks. The only other old stuff he played was "Princess", "Laid" and "Answering Machine", which was the semi-encore because he forgot to play it. Those are obviously staples of every show. There was no traditional encore. I was crushed that I didn't get to hear "Church Clothes", but such is life. Oh, he also played "Don't Stop Believin" by Journey... another MN show staple.

Overall the show just had a great energy and a great sound. The crowd vocals were actually really good... especially on "Come on Get Higher" and "Bulletproof Weeks", which you could tell Matt really got off on because I think those are his 2 personal fav's from the new album. Anthems fo sho.