Mat Kearney at The Ark

The last time we saw Mat Kearney, he played at one of our favorite venues in Detroit, St. Andrew's Hall; however, this time around, he went for a more intimate setting at The Ark in Ann Arbor.  I can't really complain about this location especially since this summer tour was an acoustic one where Mat was "getting back to his roots and doing a road trip style tour with just a guitar, some friends, and his trusty van."

The show ended up being everything it promised and more.  As I have posted in the past about The Ark, I won't go into all the innuendos of this venue, but it is certainly a unique setting that offers the opportunity to get some up-close views of the artists.  Due to the proximity and the size of the audience, it also encourages the artist to open up and share a few stories and laughs.

Playing alongside his guitarist, Tyler Burkum, Mat played for a solid two hours to a sold out audience switching between the piano and the guitar as well as songs from his three albums, "Bullet", "City of Black and White", and "Nothing Left to Lose".  He stopped a few times to tell some stories especially when it came to a new song that he planned to put on his upcoming album, "Rochester", which he wrote about his father.

The setlist included the following songs among others:

• Breathe In, Breathe Out
• Girl America
• Undeniable
• Rochester
• What's a Boy to Do
• Dancing in the Dark

Opening for Mat was Jane from the Jane Carrey Band. Yes, daughter of Jim, which she made known quickly in her folksy set.  I think Scottie and I agreed she wasn't much our type of music; however, she did play to the crowd, smiled a ton, and told a few stories of her own setting the stage quite nicely for Mat and Tyler.

Post-show, we scooted over to K&C Sushiya on South University for some sushi after our craving for some Pho was denied (apparently, the Pho place closes early. Then again, it was after 10pm on a Sunday).

Great night of music.  See more pictures in my Picasa album.