By: Andrea Myers
It’s been a big year so far for Mason Jennings, with the release of his major label debut on Isaac Brock’s Glacial Pace Records (an offshoot of Sony's Epic), and a return to heavy touring for the first time since the birth of his second child last year. But he returned to Minneapolis with barely a hitch Saturday night, and left the sold out crowd at the Orpheum screaming for more.
With all of the other activity in his jam-packed life, it’s no wonder that Mason is only making stops in his hometown twice a year these days; but the anticipation that is left to simmer in between shows makes for an intense, everyone-on-the-edge-of-their-seat affair that is just plain fun to be a part of. Like his music career, Jennings’ set ranged from one extreme to the other, beginning with his latest single off of last month’s Boneclouds, the powerful and philosophical “Be Here Now.” It took a few songs for the audience to be calm enough to sit (as opposed to wriggling uncontrollably and shrieking), but once they did Jennings and his band treated the crowd to a stripped-down acoustic set with the piano-heavy songs “Sorry Signs on Cash Machines” and “If You Ain’t Got Love.” New touring bandmate Bradford Swanson added strength to Jennings’ signature folk-rock sound by accompanying most songs on piano and guitar.
The audience went wild as Jennings ran through a solo version of John Prine’s “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You into Heaven Anymore,” and I was impressed by the number of twenty- to thirtysomethings who were revved up by the overtly political content of the song. It was followed by Jennings playing solo piano on “In Your City,” a currently unreleased original that is reminiscent of a more sensitive Billy Joel and is becoming one of my favorite Jennings ballads.
As the lengthy set wore on (Jennings and crew played a total of 25 songs, though nothing seemed to satiate the crowd), bandmates Chris Morrissey (Haley Bonar, Bill Mike) on bass and new drummer Peter Leggett (Heiruspecs) became more and more animated, and the pace continued to grow until the end of the first set. The group played an especially jammed-out version of “Killer’s Creek,” complete with a wailing, distorted acoustic guitar solo by Jennings; which was followed by two of his new, more experimental tunes, “Some Say I’m Not” and “Where the Sun Had Been.” Despite what pretenses anyone in the audience had about Mason branching out and exploring these new ideas, the crowd responded extremely well to the Neil Young-inspired rock tunes and the songs translated to the live setting especially well.
As the crowd leapt to their feet and clapped quickly in unison for “Mason, Mason,” I took a moment to contemplate the future of this growing artist. Though he (and critics and fans) seem content with the material he is currently producing, there is something about his performance and his songwriting that gives way to soul searching and deep contemplation. Having been a fan of his since his first album, I have wondered when we will finally see Jennings grow into the musician that he wants to become. But hearing the newer tunes back to back with some of his older, livelier favorites like “Butterfly” and “Godless” leads me to believe that we won’t have to wait much longer.
As Jennings wrapped up his second encore and finally parted ways with his audience, his bandmates filed off of the large stage and Mason paused to take a long look at his crowd. He held up a hand to the crowd at mouthed something – what looked to be either one last “thank you” or “I love you” – and despite the fact that no one could hear what he said, you could tell by the look on his face that it was good to be back home.
Set List:
Be Here Now
Bullet
If You Need a Reason
The Light, Pt. 2
Crown
Sorry Signs on Cash Machines
If You Ain’t Got Love
Your Flag Decal Won't Get You into Heaven Anymore (John Prine)
In Your City
Jackson Square
Drinking as Religion
Ballad of My One True Love
Adrian
Beautiful Man
Which Way Your Heart Will Go
Moon Sailing on the Water
Killer’s Creek
Some Say I’m Not
Where the Sun Had Been
The Mountain
-- Encore --
Jesus Are You Real
The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. 1 (Neutral Milk Hotel)
Butterfly
Godless
-- Encore #2 --
California, Pt. 1
Location Info:
Orpheum Theatre
Artist Info: Mason Jennings
Share this story:
Article comments powered by Disqus