Rolling Stone listed Matt White as one of the artists to watch in 2007. Wednesday night, White and his band played to a fistful of people at the Jet Lounge. The performance might as well have been a practice for White’s performance on Thursday at the House of Blues in Dallas.
Despite being received in Houston to a mostly empty club with a horribly cheesy post-modern motif, White took the opportunity to reach out to the crowd and play his favorite songs from his debut album, Best Days, released Sept. 18.
Before the show, White said that the crowds have been hit and miss.
"It seems like every other show is a big audience," White said. "We played in Charlotte to about 170 people, and when the announcer came on there was this loud shriek from all these girls. We were like, ‘What is going on?’"
When White began to play, it became quite clear that the album does not do justice to his raw talent as a performer. His positive demeanor is characterized by his cheery lyrics and up-tempo bounce.
He has a great style of picking on the acoustic guitar, but his personality radiates when he sits behind the piano.
Some of his songs are akin to Gavin Degraw or Ben Harper, but these wavelengths are far reduced in his live performance and are not a finite characterization of White as a songsmith.
His reluctance against the band’s choice to play "Love," a down-tempo folk song, shows his desire to expand beyond the narrow threshold of songs that hit the adult contemporary radio waves hard.
That dynamic was visible by the audience, which was comprised of mainly five women who met this market standard to a T.
A group of them, at one point, were perched on their bar stools with their legs crossed the same way, facing White as he poured out this quaint tune that embodies the sentiments of love so well.
It was also about this time that another one of the ladies enjoying the performance decided to buy a round of shots for the bar. Wherever you are, God bless you.
As the show went on, White decided to throw out any plan and play "Colorblind," a song that was originally supposed to be on the upcoming Shrek soundtrack.
The rest of the band took a break out in the crowd while White and the lead guitarist played the reserved acoustic song.
This song truly showcases White’s artistic identity: a well-trained musician who wants his music to elicit the best feelings. Good luck trying to find the song, too.
White says that it should be on the next album, which means a long wait for everyone who hasn’t heard it.
The show ended with the album’s title track and first single "Best Days" and "Play" which hopefully will be the next single to blast through the radio everywhere.
While "Best Days" is making its mark all over the top 40 for adult contemporary radio, "Play" is exactly what it says – a playful song that begs to be heard, sung and repeated over and over. The song’s ultra-high falsetto chorus and half-time funk groove are so tasty and fun loving, evident through its lyrics, "I wanna be with you girl/I wanna roll on the ground."
What makes this song so amazing is that it sounds like nothing else on the record, or what was performed during the show, for that matter.
It’s such an eclectic and playful song that it could take White from the solo market of adult contemporary to the heavier alternative stations, increasing his fan base – a process that shouldn’t take long, especially if he puts as much into every show as he does when there is next-to-nobody there to see him.
It was a lucky chance to be at the show. Afterward, White came down and talked to everyone, an opportunity that will not be likely the next time he comes back through town.
