Mason Jennings rocks Bluebird

Minneapolis-based artist Mason Jennings made the crowd dance at the Bluebird Nightclub  during his performance Tuesday night.

The crowd was slowly filing in when opening act Zach Gill took the stage. Gill performed as a one-man band, mostly playing the piano and singing a mix of cover tunes and original songs.

Gill’s sound has a ’70s vibe to it, sounding a little like Joe Jackson, but more rooted in blues. In the middle of his set, he played a humorous song about Arnold Schwarzenegger where he repeated the line “Do you like my pecs,” emitting laughter from the medium-size crowd. Gill said the song was for a musical he was working on.

He also played a few songs on the ukulele before going back to the piano to play a cover of “Purple Rain.”

Gill finished out his set on the accordion. One of the songs was a rendition of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” In this version, the song revolves around an accordion instead of a fiddle.

The crowd became increasingly larger leading up to Jennings’ set. When he finally took the stage, the packed audience erupted with cheers.

For his first song, he was alone on stage, armed only with an acoustic guitar and a harmonica. This combination gave off vibes of Bob Dylan, though Jennings’ voice is smoother.

After the first song, he was joined by the rest of his band, made up of a bassist and drummer. At times, the singer had an old folk sound in songs such as “Birds Flying Away.”

One of the highlights of the show was when Jennings played, “Fighter Girl.” This upbeat tune shows off both Jennings’ songwriting and vocal abilities. Later in the set, he played a few songs on piano, where he sounded more like John Lennon. Gill returned to play a few songs on piano in Jennings’ band, and even sang one.

Ryan Laing, 21, came all the way from Detroit to see Jennings play. Laing didn’t know Jennings’ music that well, but still wanted to see the show.

“After tonight, I’m more of a fan,” Laing said. “His show is on time with his music.”
Laing said his favorite song of Jennings’ was “Your New Man,” but he liked the entire show overall.

“I liked the comparability between the album and the actual live show,” he said.
Zach Carson, a friend of Laing’s, said he enjoyed the content of Jennings’ music.

“I thought he was very pertinent to his time,” Carson said, referencing “Soldier Boy,” one of his favorite songs by Jennings. “He’s talking about kids who are in the Bush army.”