Pop songsters rock the Bluebird

Mat Kearney and Ingrid Michaelson played to a full house on Thursday at the Bluebird Nightclub. The show one of the last on the artists’ co-headlined tour that began March 9.

Each performer put on an engaging and high-energy set, beginning with Kearney, who took the stage shortly before 9 and opened with “All I Have” from his latest CD, City of Black & White. His twelve-song set featured the popular 2006 single “Undeniable” and a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark.”

“I like Mat’s music because it is easy to listen to at a bar when you are hanging out with friends,” said senior Maggie Rupel. “I have never seen either artist perform before, but I really enjoy seeing shows at the Bird because of the intimate atmosphere.”

Kearney made the crowd’s experience even more intimate by calmly stepping off stage during the middle of a song and walking through the audience. He made his way through a packed house, up to the second floor of the Bird, and then back to stage.

After Kearney’s 90 minute set, Michealson took the stage in her signature glasses and straight brown hair, talking to the audience with quirky charm before opening with “Soldier” from her 2009 album Everybody. 

“Seeing Ingrid live is always something I have wanted to do,” said senior Alexa Lopez. “She has a beautiful voice and there is something different about her. Her songs are about a range of things and none of them sound the same.”

It was easy to tell Michealson likes to have fun on stage and doesn’t take herself too seriously— she laughed and talked with the crowd throughout the set, teaching them hand motions before she began songs and encouraging them to sing along.

Michaelson and her band make a commanding team, and it was clear they relied on each other’s energy and personalities throughout the show.

During her performance of “You and I” from the album Be Ok, the band joined her around the microphone, took turns singing and had audience members smiling and stomping their feet with the music.

Her 2007 single “The Way I Am” was the tenth song in her set and was met with an enthusiastic audience singing along with her.

“I fell in love with ‘The Way I Am’ and its short, powerful lyrics instantly,” Lopez said. “To this day I could listen to it on repeat. She has the ability to bring something new to each of her songs.”

She brought something new to two other songs in particular— her versions of “Ice Ice Baby” and Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” to which she and her band did a choreographed dance.

After the lighthearted routine, Michaleson and her band left the stage, and Michaelson and Kearney came back for a duet encore performance of Death Cab For Cutie’s “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.” They were later joined by their respective bands for a bow met with uproarious cheers from the crowd.