I arrived at RecordBar (best parking in town!) just in time to catch the beginning of Matt Pond PA’s set (the PA stands for Pennsylvania, which, OK, is sorta bland). The venue was full, but you wouldn’t have known it by the volume coming from the audience. Matt Pond apparently has some very polite, adult fans. A quiet, reserved audience is not something I encounter very often at the smaller venues around town. Maybe this is how grown-ups behave?
The music suited the mellow crowd fine. It’s true that Matt Pond PA isn’t pushing any envelopes, but the band's particular brand of cello-heavy pop is exceptionally well-executed. The arrangements have just enough room to breathe, and the sound is often simply lovely — small, sweet arrangements that give way to a nice crescendo. The band members also seemed really happy, joking easily between each other and with the crowd. Rocky Votolato does, in fact, possess a vocal resemblance to a mainstream performer: Hellooooo, Ryan Adams.The only thing that Votolato has in common with Matt Pond PA is a yeoman-like approach to touring; this show was one of the last on a two-month outing in which the bands played nearly every night. Even outside of this tour, both acts seem to never really leave the road. What I like about Matt Pond PA and Rocky Votolato is that both feel like hometown bands at the height of their abilities. I left during Votolato's last song, by which point his songs had all begun to blend together in a pleasant way. Perhaps it’s not for everyone, but come on, it's no 1.8.
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