Mason Jennings and Zach Gill

Last night I had the pleasure of catching Zach Gill and Mason Jennings playing live at the Murray Theater. Visiting this venue was a first for me. I love these club-like places that hold less than a thousand people. The lighting left something to be desired, just too dark the entire time. Before the show started, between sets, and even during performances there was either too little lighting or poor lighting effects during the sets. That's not something I normally notice, but that was the case last night. It could have had something also to do with the overwhelming temperature of the place too. The acoustics, however, were great. In a show as mellow as this one, there wasn't going to be much opportunity for our ears to be blown out anyway but everything sounded perfect.

Zach Gill opened for Mason and I had actually never heard of him. Maybe if I hadn't been cured a few years ago by my Jack Johnson fever then I would have recognized him because he used to be a featured member in his band. His was alone for his entire performance which probably showcased his talent even moreso. He started off playing the piano and then moved on to the ukulele, piano and bongo (same time), accordion, and back to the piano. He was amazing. His music is characteristic of that Mason/Jack Johnson/Ben Harper ilk - laid back and at ease. What sets him apart from those guys is his humor. Most of his songs feel like stories, and one especially entertaining one was about the devil betting his accordion against a kid's soul that he was a better player. I can't quite place who he sounds like, but his voice and style reminds me of Jackson Browne. Here's another sample that was featured in Baby Mama. I'm pretty sure he will get pretty popular.

There was little delay between Zach and Mason's sets which is always nice. Come to think of it, I might have liked Zach's music more than Mason's actually. Mason played for almost two hours. He opened on stage by himself, and about three songs in his band joined him. Zach joined him on stage for the second half to accompany on piano. Mason is funny to me - his lyrics are full of humor but he doesn't laugh and rarely smiles the entire time he's playing. He played a new song about all the ways we can die and it was really funny, but his face didn't betray any of that humor. The best part about this kind of music is that there's so little doctoring of the album music, so hearing everything live is about the same quality as what you hear in your car. Except for a pair of chumps to my right that wanted to hear East of Eden, Mason played every song that anyone wanted to hear. The whole show was just awesome. There is nothing better than live music. This is the perfect kind of date concert. My favorite of the night was probably Soldier Boy, but you have to love these lyrics: