People of all ages packed into the Water Street Music Hall’s club on Wednesday night to see Mates of State and Philly rockers Free Energy. However, before the music took place, listeners had to endure a magician and a comedian. It was kind of like watching “America’s Got Talent” on Wednesday– watching a 60+ year old local magician wobble through an awkward yet charming routine, before acclaimed actor/comedian Todd Barry took the stage. Those two “sets” aside, the show was pretty memorable.
Free Energy took the stage around 9:45 and started with a boom. Opening with their own anthem “Free Energy”, the boys harnessed the attention of the anxious audience, and had toes tapping in less than thirty seconds. Free Energy is the type of band that is so catchy and accessible, they can’t help but become huge. Simply watching them in a small venue gives you goosebumps knowing you’re seeing them right then and there, but in a year from now they’ll surely be playing Arena shows opening for a legendary rock band like the Stones. Lanky singer Paul Sprangers had quite the swagger, swingin’ his hips and fist pumping the night away. In fact the whole demeanor of the band was nothing short of genuine. Every once in awhile you stumble over a band that is in it for the fame and glamour…Free Energy is not one of them. One of the many highlights of their 45 minute set was unarguably thanks to a wasted audience member (who I later found out is friends with the band), who pushed through the crowd to get front and center, grabbing audience members left and right and making them fist pump with him…later he bought the whole band shots of tequila four songs in..and probably had another four himself.
Finally the main attraction hit the stage- the wonderful, cute, and talented Mates of State. Not having played in Rochester since the very early 2000s at a venue 1/4 the size of Water Street, the visit was long overdue. The husband and wife duo, Kori and Jason, played with the addition of a guitarist and trumpeter, to create the fuller sound that appears on the bands most recent full-length Re-Arrange Us. Starting with an epic instrumental build the band launched into “The Re-Arranger” (despite some organ/tech problems faced by a frustrated Kori). The whole set was a great mix of the group’s catalog, sadly only going as far back as 2003 release Team Boo when they dedicated “Ha Ha” to a group of dancers in the front row. Other highlights included fan favorite “Goods (All in your Head)” as well as “Think Long” which was followed by a birthday cake being brought out on stage to celebrate Kori’s 30th birthday…and here I thought she was 25…
Mates of State did play a handful of covers, in support of their new covers album Crushes, and to my surprise, they were fantastic. On the record the songs are a bit bland, and don’t highlight the Mates of State charm I fell in love with years ago- it almost plays like an album they created to keep themselves busy. Live however, the songs come alive and have a special twist! Especially their cover of Tom Wait’s “Long Way Home” which I found increasingly different from their recorded version.
