by Chantel Malin
Academy of Music Theatre presents: Matt Nathanson & Stephen Kellogg: Boston Accent Tour. February 25th, 2023, in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Matt Nathanson brought the second leg of his Boston Accent Tour to the Academy of Music Theatre Northampton for a sold out performance on Saturday, February 25, with support from very special guest Stephen Kellogg.
Kellogg opened the show with an intimate solo acoustic set, though what he lacked in instrumentation he certainly made up for with his enthusiasm and his pure joy and love of music. He played a selection of songs from his lengthy career, including "4th Street Moon" and "Satisfied Man" of Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, and "Ride the Rails" and "To the Ones Who Need It Most" from his 2022 record Keep It Up, Kid. Kellogg peppered his performance with stories from his long career as a touring musician, including the backstory of the currently unreleased song "Harbor," inspired by an incident in which the author of one of his daughters' books mistook him for the famed children's author who shares his name. His daughters Sophia and Adeline joined him to sing harmony on "Almost Woke You Up," which they co-wrote, before being joined by the remaining two Kellogg sisters Noella and Greta to close out the set with "See You Later, See You Soon," on which Sophia and Adeline shared a solo on the last verse.
A Massachusetts native, Northampton was something of a homecoming for Matt Nathanson. After a brief walk-on intro set to the theme song of 21 Jump Street - and giving the audience a moment to separate the tune from his own music - Nathanson jumped into the title track from his 2022 record Boston Accent, an homage to the town he grew up in. Following was a mashup of "Car Crash" and U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," the first of many moments of the evening to pay tribute to Nathanson's deep appreciation of music as a whole.
Never one to go too long without cracking a joke, Nathanson broke to tell the audience a hilarious, brutally honest story from backstage before the show - including a harrowing encounter with the green room restroom and one of Stephen Kellogg's unsuspecting daughters. He then promptly launched into "German Cars," which he described as the most emotionally bare and intimate song off Boston Accent. Keeping the audience engaged, he continued into the sweet and endearing "Pictures," followed by "Faster," featuring the signature audience clap along that many of his fans were already prepared for, and then a sing along to a cover of Prince's "Starfish and Coffee."
Nathanson then headed into a more mellow portion of the evening, including the first ever live performance of "Future's Here" followed by "Sing Me Sweet," a rarely played gem from Beneath These Fireworks - which is nearing its 20th anniversary. Always one to slip in references to his own favorite musicians, Nathanson included a verse from The Cure's "A Letter to Elise" in the latter.
Following an inquiry from an audience member regarding some ongoing vocal troubles he'd had (which were steadily improving, thanks to a caring fan who got him a last minute appointment with an ENT specialist), Nathanson took time for another comedic break to demonstrate the speech-to-text app he'd been using to communicate with his crew while on vocal rest between shows. He carried the energy on upwards, with a soaring sing along to "Suspended," followed by an impromptu cover of AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" featuring a ripping vocal and guitar solo by band member Aaron Tap, into the bright, shimmery, and anthemic "Giants."
Riding the wave of energy back to a lull, Nathanson sang "Sway," followed by his last cover of the evening - Harry Styles' "Matilda," which is featured on his recent Lexington EP, a collection of B-sides from Boston Accent along with a handful of covers and collaborations. Following "Used to Be," Nathanson reflected on how he historically performed at the much smaller Iron Horse Music Hall when passing through Northampton, and how he would always walk past the Academy of Music Theatre and think "that's the place the play" - and thus, this show represented a sort of dream come true for him. After performing the 2007 hit "Come on Get Higher," Nathanson took a moment to introduce his small but mighty band - composed of multi-instrumentalists Aaron Tap and Adam Popick.
To close out the evening, Nathanson introduced "Blush" as the sequel to "Come on Get Higher," followed by a heartfelt thank you to the audience for selling out such a landmark performance for him - and of course with one last bit of humor, thanked his fans for listening to "some guy whose song I'm sure you hear a lot in Whole Foods." In his own words, "all the magic we get in the world is being present in the moment you're in," and for the night, the room was filled with people who could imagine no better place to spend the present. He ended the night with an audience request - "Little Victories," another beloved tune from nearly two decades ago that has only come to mean more to his fans in recent years.
Check out the full galleries of Stephen Kellogg and Matt Nathanson below!
Comentários