Showing up for a Mayer Hawthorne show without a ticket or photo pass is not the smartest thing I've ever done. Like the man himself said during a break in the soul-drenched set, "Anyone who isn't here, really fucked up." Luckily, through some intervention by the artist himself, I wasn't one of the ones who was left out in the cold.
The 29-year old Michigan native and his insanely talented (and appropriately attired) band, The County, brought a whole lot of love to Great Scott in Allston that night, performing songs from their album A Strange Arrangement as part of the Lonely Hearts Tour. Hawthorne (known as Haircut in the hip-hop world) proved that "new soul" is indeed alive and well in his hands.
Dressed in khakis and a track jacket and peering through his thick rimmed glasses, Hawthorne decided that doing his first recorded effort, "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out," in the normal way wasn't going to cut it for the evening's crowd, and instead decided to lay it down differently . . . reggae style. The result got even the bar staff to nod their heads as if they were standing on a beach in Negril.
A few songs deeper into the set, Hawthorne asked that everyone put away their cell phones for the evening and let this be just between us. The "us" I think he was referring to was three separate entities: the band, the crowd, and the baby-making music that was taking everyone by the waist and forcing them to sway shoulder to shoulder, side to side, beat to beat.
I've seen my share of shows packed into the confines of Great Scott, but I'm fairly sure this is one I'm going to be recounting to friends over and over again, pleading that they go out and catch one of Hawthorne's performances before it's truly impossible to get a ticket. The beats were palpable, the mood was smooth and sexy, and the band was nothing short of perfect.
In fact, the show was so good, so full of style, that I'm actually considering going back on my promise to never wear anything but jeans and getting myself a nice pair khakis.
For those who don't know me, you should consider that a fairly strong endorsement.
