It’s been about six years since I’ve seen uber-talented singer-songwriter, Declan McKenna, in concert, so I was very pleased to get the chance to do it again.
Back all those years ago I was kind of shocked at the turnout for the gig. As far as I knew, only my sister really had ever heard of this English wunderkind. Also, the show was at a very tiny bar halfway to Cleveland. I think we are talking max capacity of 200 people. And there really seemed to be that many people in attendance, though I think some heavy local radio play and promotion was to credit. This time around I was kind of shocked to see that he skipped a couple of venue sizes and landed at the Agora Theatre and Ballroom. That’s a potential crowd of 2,000 people! Always concerned about parking when I go alone, I got to the venue about fifteen minutes prior to doors opening and there was already a serious line wrapped around. Once the show actually started, too, did I see a large press of bodies in the space. I can’t speak to the seating in the balcony, but I think McKenna did just fine for himself.
McKenna is known for both performing brilliantly, but also for a bit of theatrics. To kick off the show, the opener Eli Smart took the stage. While the songs were mid-tempo, groovy, but somewhat unremarkable, they made up for in aesthetic. Let me preface that by informing you that Smart and his band came all the way from Hawaii! I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a band from there before. Smart played guitar, an average looking guy played the drums, but then he had Jacob Batalon-esque back up singer and maraca-shaker. He had some moves! But that doesn’t even begin to compare to who was playing bass. At first I just think it’s a kind of nervous woman walking onto the stage with a binder full of sheet music, but then I realize this is an OLD LADY. And not just any old lady – Eli Smart’s grandmother. She told the crowd to call her “Tutu,” and I just couldn’t help but chuckle a lot during that set. It was both very cute and incredibly odd.
For McKenna’s part, he actually didn’t have that many bells and whistles to his set, which is fine by me. That just means I get to hear him sounding great without any distractions or ways to diminish the vocal performance. His supporting band is GOOD, and I found myself mesmerized by the keyboardist, who also served as flute player and tambourine shaker. A kid standing in front of me caught a hilarious moment where this kid was shaking the tambourine as if it was the last thing on earth he would get to play. Fantastic. The set itself consisted of a lot of tracks off both What Do You Think About the Car? and Zeroes. I was so happy to hear “Paracetamol,” though I love much of his work. He also has a new single out, “Sympathy,” which I enjoyed but was uncertain of how it would play to a crowd. I was a fool because it was great with lots of enthusiasm from the crowd. Not that the crowd was short on enthusiasm at any other point during the show. Quite the opposite, in fact. Who knew he had this many young, dedicated fans? Not I.
But, it was a great show and I was glad I got the chance to see him on stage again after all this time. Go check out his stuff!