At the top of State Street, past bars and The Hub construction site, there is a thriving community of music lovers, late night owls constantly looking for entertainment. Mat Kearney’s performance at the Orpheum March 18 provided just that.
There was a lot of buildup to Kearney’s performance as his most recent album, JUST KIDS, was released two months ago. This album has been in creation for years and is starting to grow on me, but it’s hard to live up to his previous albums, Nothing Left to Lose, Young Love and City of Black & White. JUST KIDS contains a mix of sounds of the previous albums, and fit together very well. Kearney used his pop vocals with high snares, and delved a bit into an electronic sound that is now becoming present across many genres. He’s developed immensely as an artist, and many may not know that Kearney played soccer on an athletic scholarship at California State University, Chico. After three years of playing soccer, he met producer Robert Marvin, who took him to Nashville, Tennessee, where Kearney resides to this day.
Before Kearney’s performance, Judah & the Lion, also from Nashville, was the opener for Parachute. Judah & the Lion was a lively bunch, with an array of instruments, including a banjo and a mandolin. They were jumping and dancing around the stage while playing some fantastic folk music. The band finished up their set, and called for Parachute, one of my favorite bands, to hop up on stage. This wasn’t the end for Judah & the Lion though, as Kearney pulled them out on stage later for a crowd-pleasing cover of Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk.”
Parachute was ready as they came on for the large crowd of screaming girls. The fancy pink blazer on lead singer Will Anderson got the raucous crowd going. Their most recent release, Overnight, received a lot of publicity, which the band built on from the success of previous songs such as, “She Is Love,” and “Kiss Me Slowly.” The band was a fun bunch, and really talented at involving the crowd. Their closing song, “Didn’t See It Coming,” really brought it home. It was a bit like being at a Badger hockey game: the band was going wild, the kids in the front were getting loud, and the parents were sitting back and enjoying a drink.
Kearney was ready to change the atmosphere, as he hopped up on stage with his classic skater look. He said that he loves it here in Madison, and his enthusiasm showed when he started rambling about the unique town we share. Kearney opened with “Heartbreak Dreamer,” off his new album. He slowly eased the crowd in, and then turned up the volume with an old classic, “Count On Me.” This was great to hear live, because I covered the song in my high school band. After my favorite song, he broke out the big guns and jumped into the crowd. Kearney really poured his heart into his performance, and the crowd loved it.
The night wouldn’t have been complete without the encore. Kearney came back on stage, and the entire crowd was excited for “Hey Mama,” off of Young Love. He also messed around on the beat pad from the title track of JUST KIDS, and finished the encore with “Ships In the Night.”
After the show ended, I was able to get pictures with Parachute’s Anderson, who told me, “If I could have any superpower it would be a soundtrack that plays wherever I go with the proper mood that I’m in.” Before I left the venue, I encountered a drunk woman on her way out. She started raving to me about the show, and I realized that she was like me: people may grow up and get jobs, but on the inside, we are all JUST KIDS.
