battle of the matts - round 1

There was a week in September where I went a little crazy and purchased concert tickets for a few shows in back to back settings. It was really one of those, on Monday – hey want to see Matt Nathanson? On Tuesday, hey want to see Matt Wertz? Finally on Wednesday, I think I looked at a show and had to be like, Jill, concerts are great but isn’t this like a bit insane? So I took a bit of a breather and decided to go with seeing two of my favorite songwriters in concert in two consecutive weeks.  Upon going to the first concert this week, I’ve decided to call this the Battle of the Matts.  Seeing as these are two artists with the same first name, and well are two of my go to music choices when I am ready to jam, I thought it would be fun to host my own battle of concerts (some of you who read the title were really hoping I was dating two guys named Matt, right? Well so does my mother – get in line).

First up was Matt Nathanson, who has a new(ish) album – Last of the Great Pretenders, that I frequent on Spotify nearly daily. The show was at Terminal 5 – which was a first time for me at this venue.  Josh Radin was the opening act- another one on my list of artists that make me happy.  Matt Nathanson was funny, his stories were great, making me laugh. One of my favorite song openings, was when he explained he wrote the song for an ex-girlfriend as a hope of getting back together, they didn’t, but she provided enough material for five albums (clearly my documentation of the story is not nearly as good as his). He was good natured and humorous throughout the show – I thought well if he ever wants to try his hand at standup that might be a good backup career.  I really enjoyed the music, the band did a great mix of newer songs and some of the old classics. I loved getting some of the stories behind the songs I often sing at my desk at work (only when my neighbors are gone), but it definitely put a personal spin on so many songs I love.

Highlights:

Favorite Songs: Sunday New York Times, Mission Bells, Annie’s Always Waiting

Audience Participation Moment: Tiny Whitney (encouraging everyone that they have a tiny Whitney Houston trapped inside them)

Bonus: For the encore the band reappeared dressed as Poison and performed Poison songs before closing with Faster

Right now this feels like it’s going to be tough for Matt Wertz to compete with, but I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised. 

photo via pinterest