battle of the matts – round 2

Are you ready for the second installment of my “Battle of the Matts”? As you may recall, from this post, I had a week of concert ticket purchasing, which resulted in me with tickets to see both Matt Nathanson and Matt Wertz in concert within about a week of each other. I was lucky enough to have a friend willing to join me on my concert going adventures throughout the two weeks, and it was really fun to see to singers I really enjoy listening to.

Matt Wertz  was definitely a Pandora discovery a few years back, and now he’s one of my go to happy place music people.  Naturally, some of his songs have a breakup theme (something I realized I am drawn to, which is probably bad in a way, oh well), as well as some really happy songs that make me sing along (which I hope my neighbors enjoy). First off the venue for this show was much more intimate then the prior one, being at the Highline Ballroom. My friend and I were able to sit at a table right up front and have dinner and drinks before and during the show, I pretty much felt like I could almost touch the stage – or that at least the band could probably see me.  I really enjoyed being so close to the band and getting to hear so many of my favorite songs. I was sadly unaware of the latest album so I had not done my own due diligence in prepping for the show by spending the week prior just listening to the new stuff, however Matt played all my old favorites too. I was a happy camper based on the fact that I could sing along and annoy the man in front of me (sir – it’s a concert, you are supposed to sing along, not shoot dirty looks at those of us singing).

Highlights:

Favorite Songs: 5:19 as the original closer, Get to You, Someone Like You

Philanthropy: Finding out about the Mocha Club, a great charity helping out in Africa to provide clean water, among other things to those in need

Bonus: For the encore playing snippets of favorite songs, often after an audience member shouted it out, before bringing back the band and the opening act to finish the show

So, you may be asking, who won my battle? Well, I’ve been listening to Matt Wertz for two weeks solid since the end of his show, and trying to see when he’s coming back to town again, so I think he’s the winner from that alone. Both shows were so different, but I truly enjoyed the smaller venue and feeling more a part of the experience.

 

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