When New York singer-songwriter Matt White opened for Edwin McCain at Sellersville Theater 1894 last November, he was compelling in a six-song set.
When White returned to Sellersville as a co-headliner with Brendan James on Wednesday, he again was great on six songs.
The problem was that he played 12 songs in his 50-minute set, the remainder of which was still wonderful in spots, but desultory and, ultimately, less satisfying.
Matt White at Sellersville Theater 1894
The oddity was that White started with a half-dozen songs, all from his sophomore disc, September’s “It’s the Good Crazy,” and all with a three-member band – a contrast to November, when he played with just himself on piano and a guitar player.
There was the fun, jaunty, falsetto-filled opener, “And the Beat Goes.” There was the confident and convoluted “Therapy.” There was a forceful “Colorblind,” on which he reached for notes that seemed outside his grasp, yet somehow found them.
And there was a wonderfully done “Fallin’ in Love (With My Best Friend),” the disc’s first single, which he followed with “Taking on Water,” on which he nailed the vulnerable voice of the chorus.
But the first weak spot was when White played his biggest hit, “Best Days,” from his 2007 debut disc of the same name. White skipped the song in November, later saying he was saving it for the end but got signaled off stage.
But on Wednesday, he not only chose to play it in the middle of his set, but oddly played it alone and acoustic, stripping away the song’s fullness. It was a disappointment.
Perhaps because he had so front-loaded his set with his best songs, the rest of the set lagged, even though “When I Fall” was stark and vulnerable, with his falsetto against piano, and “I’ll Be There” was faster and more forceful than on record.
His song “Love” — which he introduced by noting its use on the commercial for the reintroduction of McDonalds’ McRib sandwich (“A little bit of an awkward sandwich,” he said. “Would I have been happier with a Big Mac? Yeah”) – seemed tossed off, though his piano playing was perhaps the best of the night.
That, also oddly, was one of the few times White spoke to the crowd – perhaps understandable, because the small audience of just over 80 seemed lifeless and unresponsive. White and co-headliner James both commented about how quiet the theater was.
White closed with two weaker songs: “Sunshine” and “Play Girl,” seemingly happy to end the set. There was no encore.
White is far better than this – and was at his last Sellersville appearance.
White’s set was better than that of James, whose 10-song, 55-minute set with the same band was full of pretention and self-seriousness, but also a mediocre voice and mediocre songs.
Sounding mostly like a young Billy Joel, James had none of the fun or multi-layered meanings that infused White’s songs. “Manchester” and “The Fall” were somber but one-dimensional. And he introduced “The Sun Will Rise” as a song that’s “always been real special to me.” Well, then, who are we to not like it?
“I’m a pretty serious guy most of the time,” he said while introducing what he said was the “happy song” his friends persuaded him to write, “Stupid for You Love.” They lyrics of which, ironically, talk about how smart James is.
Here’s a rule of thumb: If you tell people how serious you are, they’re not likely to take you seriously. And the song wasn’t that happy, either.
It was no coincidence that James’ best song by far was “Get It Right,” which speaks of searching and being unsure.
Opener Will Knox’s alt-folk set was nice – especially “Footprints on the Moon,” sung with a guitar/banjo hybrid.
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