It would be so easy to write off Matt Costa as just another guy with a guitar making mediocre acoustic rock. His case isn’t helped by the fact that he’s signed to Brushfire Records, Jack Johnson’s label and home to the sleepy, beach-guitar boys club. Costa’s recordings can come off a little bit wishy-washy at times, but at the heart of his music is man with serious talent and a lot of heart. This was made very evident at his recent show with Threes and Nines at the Doug Fir Lounge.
Threes and Nines is a nice acoustic outfit based out of Central California. With a heavy folk-rock and blues influences, the band charmed and pleased the already packed basement of the Doug Fir with music that was pleasant, if just a little hollow.
Threes and Nines seem to have mastered the safe sounds of acoustic rock, that makes them an excellent opening band, but seals their fate as a group that probably can’t hold a show together all on their own. It all sounds really pleasant, but halfway through their set, songs began blurring into each other and everything just began to sound the same. To the band’s credit, they did their best to put on a nice show. Each member of the group played and sang with great energy and a lot of joy. Their sound was clean and on point for the most part, with the exception of a few moments where it seemed as if the singer was trying for a more “raw” or “intense” sound. The only thing accomplished in those moments though was scratchy vocals and cracking voices.
The room may have been pretty crowded for Threes and Nines, but it officially packed itself to the gills for Matt Costa and his band. Costa is one of those rare artists that almost sounds better live than he does recorded. Maybe it was the addition of a full band of talented musicians or maybe it was the fact that he’s a charismatic performer, but Costa owned that stage in a way his music never could have foreshadowed. Starting the night off with “Miss Magnolia” off his 2008 album Unfamiliar Faces, Costa played a good selection of songs that spanned his discography. On stage, Costa began with a sound that projected far more country influence than one might expect from the singer.
This country sound came and went, dissolving occasionally back into the more typical folk influences he's known for and sometimes even into a bit of sweet, old school rock ’n’ roll. Costa got the occasional clapping along from the crowd, but really elicited a response when he played a few of his more well known songs like “Sunshine” and “Cold December” off Songs We Sing and “Mr. Pitiful” off Unfamiliar Faces. The audience sang along so loud on “Sunshine,” that the band’s singing was nearly drowned out. For “Mr. Pitiful,” Costa switched things up by jumping over to the keyboard and playing through the song crouched over the keys. Bouncing to the beat, he looked like he was about to leap out into the crowd like a frog.
Costa only had a few off moments and they were usually while he was letting out an awkward yell/scream in the middle of a few songs. A mix of falsetto and some kind of attempt at primal mating calls perhaps; these moments were just kind of uncomfortable.
Finishing off the night, the encore included a memorably intimate performance of “Whiskey and Wine” that was both sweet and sad at the same time. His music is normally a nice listen, but Costa manages to set himself apart from the pretty boy acoustic musicians out there with a live show that packs a wallop of soul and feeling in each breath.
