Pick of the Week Mae Sat May 2

Mae @ The Clubhouse Music Venue, Tempe

Matt Costa Live at The Clubhouse 01.30.2008

By Steve Shugg, FromTheCrowd.com Contributor

As I was driving up to the Clubhouse Music Venue on Jan 30^th, I wasn’t really sure exactly how the crowd was going to be. Was it going to be packed, or had the word not gotten out yet as to just how good a musician Matt Costa was? Well I was pleasantly surprised to find out that people in Phoenix not only know who he is, but brought their friends to what turned out to be a great show. The place was packed. It was very refreshing to see, especially since the last time that Matt Costa played in Tempe, the venue just was not that crowded, which was disappointing because he’s a great artist.

Costa is currently on tour with his new album, “Unfamiliar Faces”, and his latest single, “Mr. Pitiful”. The album is pretty good, but the single is just a lot of fun to listen to; Upbeat, catchy lyrics, just a song that you can really get into. When Matt busted out this tune live, although the album had only been out a few days, there were plenty of people that knew all the lyrics and were dancing and singing along.

It was also pretty cool to see that Costa brought with him his collection of older songs from the “Songs We Sing” album, his most popular. When he played songs like “Astair” and “Cold December”, the crowd couldn’t get enough. Neither could I, as “Songs We Sing” is one of the albums that not matter what mood I’m in, I can always put on that record and just listen. I’m looking forward to doing the same with “Unfamiliar Faces”.

Overall the show was fantastic, the crowd was really into it, and Matt seemed to have a great time on stage. And although he didn’t really interact with the crowd that much in between songs, it was still a great concert.

Ben Lee at the Clubhouse 12.11.2007

By Steve Shugg, FromTheCrowd.com Contributor

There are certain shows where the lineup of artists simply gets put together because of either record label politics, or favors to friends bands. These said shows always seem to go the same way; first band plays, leaves; next band, gets off stage; finally the main act and shows over. As good as these shows might be, its always more fun to see the artists interact with each other. At the recent Ben Lee and Cary Brothers show at the Clubhouse, the listeners were in for an experience. All three artists, Kate Voegele, Cary Brothers and Ben Lee jumped on stage with the other acts, got the crowd involved, and just seemed to be having a great time on stage.

The show started with Kate Voegele, an up and coming artists who recently was signed to Myspace records. She did not hesitate to give everything she had, and it showed; she put on a great show, and with her voice and songwriting ability, she’ll be around for a while.

Next up was Cary Brothers. Here’s an artist that has put in the time to become a talented musician, and celebrates that with his songwriting and crowd interaction. Playing crowd favorites like “Blue Eyes” and “Honestly”, Brothers has the stage presence that seems to be missing from so many live acts these days.

Closing out the night was of course Ben Lee, an Australian musician who puts on one hell of a show. Mixing in witty jokes with some amazing tunes is a great way to feel welcome in this country. Playing songs off his latest album “Ripe”, he sounded great. He also played a tune off of his cover album, where he covered the entire Against Me! album, “New Wave”.

The night would not be complete, however, with a sing a long, and these three did not disappoint. Before they finished, Lee brought everyone back on stage to not sing one of their songs, but instead covered Rush’s “Surrender”. It turned out to be a great song that everyone that was old enough to know the lyrics, sang along to. Overall a great night at the clubhouse, and makes one look forward to the up coming Hotel Café Tour, where some of these artists will be back for another great show.

A Paolo Nutini straight up please! 10.21.2007

By Adam Scott, FromTheCrowd.com Contributor

It was a emotional display of Italian heritage, Scottish roots, and London beginnings fueling the October 21^st show at the Marquee Theatre that left the audience dripping with a worldly view of  old soul and Rock and Roll. Coming off of Nutini’s first full length album released in May 2006, These Streets, this 19 year old songster stole the minds and hearts of the few lucky enough to fall witness to his performance.

 When the show began blaring the tune of “Gonna Fly Away” popularized by the 1976 film Rocky, we all began to think we were in for a little more than the Pop/R&B single “New Shoes”. Ready for a musical mixture of crossing genres, the night consistently kept my attention and was drank down like the chilled cocktails served just feet behind me. Covering the 1966 Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) gave the crowd a plethora of songs to sing to and even surprise Paolo when the audience took over for a chorus of “Last Request” that made the band grin with a sense of accomplishment.

If living the dream consisted of quitting school at 16, moving to the booming metropolis of London, and starting a music career that will change the face of throaty harmonics, I’m in! His Joe Cocker stage presence and willingness to connect will definitely have me finding tickets in my coat pocket the next time he moves through town.