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Setlist
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Mat Kearney’s latest effort is called ‘Young Love’ and that was what the several hundreds of University of Minnesota students showed Kearney on his 70 min. outdoor appearance near Coffman Union Saturday night, winding up an activity-filled, week long Spring Jam celebration.
Despite many pre-show reservations by students wanting a more party-oriented act to headline, Kearney ended up winning over the attending crowd, many over-caffeinated with pent-up hormonal energy, in an event that had students climbing up light poles and fences to see, and even a crowd-surfing student dressed in full garb as Gandalf the Wizard. It also proved that who happened to be on-stage was secondary to the event itself, the general party vibe being the most primary in most people’s minds, to just unwind and have a good time (coincidence he opened with ‘Young, Dumb, and in Love’?).
The Nashville-based Kearney kept it generally laid back, playing guitar most for of the set, switching briefly to piano for a few songs. Playing mostly songs from his 4th album (and 1st for Universal Republic), Kearney showed he thoroughly enjoys playing here and knows his audience, mentioning Minneapolis/St. Paul numerous times and riffing in a mid-song rap about the Twins, Vikings, Maroon and Gold, and weather; for what he called his “best show in Minnesota”. The crowd response was particularly high during his early hit ‘Nothing Left to Lose’ and when he worked the verse and refrain from Macklemore and Lewis’ ‘Thrift Shop’ into one of his own songs.
In terms of sound, the mix skewed a little shrill and the PA would cut out for a second several times during the set, with the windy outdoors also further complicating a perfect listening experience. In the end, most attending were more than satisfied, but were still in the mood to continue celebrating, as the piped-in exit music (MIA’s ‘Paper Planes’) got as large or larger a crowd response, than anything played on stage earlier.
Despite many pre-show reservations by students wanting a more party-oriented act to headline, Kearney ended up winning over the attending crowd, many over-caffeinated with pent-up hormonal energy, in an event that had students climbing up light poles and fences to see, and even a crowd-surfing student dressed in full garb as Gandalf the Wizard. It also proved that who happened to be on-stage was secondary to the event itself, the general party vibe being the most primary in most people’s minds, to just unwind and have a good time (coincidence he opened with ‘Young, Dumb, and in Love’?).
The Nashville-based Kearney kept it generally laid back, playing guitar most for of the set, switching briefly to piano for a few songs. Playing mostly songs from his 4th album (and 1st for Universal Republic), Kearney showed he thoroughly enjoys playing here and knows his audience, mentioning Minneapolis/St. Paul numerous times and riffing in a mid-song rap about the Twins, Vikings, Maroon and Gold, and weather; for what he called his “best show in Minnesota”. The crowd response was particularly high during his early hit ‘Nothing Left to Lose’ and when he worked the verse and refrain from Macklemore and Lewis’ ‘Thrift Shop’ into one of his own songs.
crowd-surfing student dressed in full garb as Gandalf the Wizard
Kearney also sang from inside the crowd and jumped on the drum riser, bringing additional energy to songs that sound more complacent as studio versions, and ended the main set with a full cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing in the Dark’, a song written before most of the audience was born. The encore brought the night’s biggest sustained response, with back-to-back current hits, ‘Ships in the Night’ and ‘Hey Mama’, which intensified the crowd surfing, hand raising, and chorus-chanting crowd, before Kearney exited to applause, 'Gandalf still crowd-surfing'.
In terms of sound, the mix skewed a little shrill and the PA would cut out for a second several times during the set, with the windy outdoors also further complicating a perfect listening experience. In the end, most attending were more than satisfied, but were still in the mood to continue celebrating, as the piped-in exit music (MIA’s ‘Paper Planes’) got as large or larger a crowd response, than anything played on stage earlier.
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Mat Kearney at Coffman Union UMN, Minneapolis (04/27/13) |
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