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Club Majestic
Madison, WI
3 June 2006
Mat Kearney's in a good place. Professionally, that is. Having gained his first notoriety in the Christian market, he has graduated to a general market deal where his semi-sung/semi-rapped folk pop has become even more of a natural on adult album alternative radio than it was in any Christian radio format. Bonuses: he hasn't abandoned his Christian fans (from distribution and radio standpoints), and he's selling enough CD's to make a couple of Billboard charts. It couldn't have happened to a nicer, more soft-spoken guy.
Since Kearney's show at renovated movie house Club Majestic was welcomed by Madison's commercial triple-a FM outlet, there was no way to tell how much of the alcohol-serving venue knew Kearney from his days on Inpop Records. What was evident was a friendly vibe;said vibe was made apparent to me by the couple sitting behind me who helped adjust my big, cushy chair in such a way as not to obstruct their view and keep the light on the side of the hall out of my eye. Not the most fan-friendly layout when it comes to watching bands has Club Majestic.
Kearney's set reprised a majority of his second long-player, Nothing Left To Lose, with the same full band accompaniment as on the album. Kearney, wearing a fisherman's cap, stuck mostly to his acoustic guitar but went to the piano for a couple of numbers as well.
From the opening "Bullet" to a keyboards & voice encore on "Won't Back Down" (prefaced by explaining the song's basis in Johnny Cash's post-drug addiction spiritual commitment), Kearney exuded humility and gratitude, if coupled with a none too dynamic stage presence. Introducing a new song about his travels in Chicago and other cities he has played, Kearney noted his befuddlement of having things thrown at him as a sign of appreciation when he opened for another act at the Windy City's House of Blues.
Perhaps tellingly, crowd reaction sounded a touch more animated when Kearney launched into "Undeniable," his biggest Christian radio single to date (I've also heard it recently on a Green Bay, Wisconsin, general market top 40 outlet), than on the titular cut of his current set, climbing Radio & Records' triple-a chart as of this writing. So, maybe the saints were representing in bigger numbers than might have been expected?
Kearney might stand to add
some pizzazz to his stage persona, but there's no faulting his unique musical
niche nor the vulnerability and glimpses of salvation in his song craft.
And if any listener at the Majestic couldn't glean that second quality
straightway, Kearney's planting those seeds in a most relatable way.
Jamie Lee Rake