Walking into Brighton Music Hall at 9 p.m. Tuesday night, one would hardly suspect it would turn into a raucous, dancing mass of people in little less than an hour. Sparse groups of twos and threes slumped against the wall, immersed in shadow and idly sipping drinks. It was the musical acts of the night, A.C. Newman supported by The Mynabirds that would produce this enormous transformation.
The Mynabirds warmed up a meager yet enthusiastic crowd with their country-tinged bluesy rock. Front woman Laura Burhenn went from softly cooed ballads to foot-stomping calls to arms, urging the audience to participate in the band’s hit “Generals” while donning a furry wolf headdress.
Sufficiently roused, the crowd greeted A.C. Newman with a cascade of applause and shouts that didn’t die down until the band launched into their first song— “I’m Not Talking,” off Newman’s new album Shut Down The Streets. Newman leaned heavily on this album in his set list, playing more than half of the ten tracks on Streets. Yet he also catered to the diehard fans, playing old favorites to the whoops and cheers of the crowd.
There was no skimping on the instruments, as Newman’s band mates paraded out saxophones, clarinets, flutes and some kind of tiny piano with a tube attached. Rather than providing an overload, though, these unusual sounds melded seamlessly with the more traditional pieces of your everyday rock band, creating an impressive wall of multi-layered sound that’s hard to come by in a live band.
The energy and positivity of the band was almost palpable. Despite not being a diehard fan myself, the way that Newman and his band belted out each track made me feel as though I knew all of the words, even if I was hearing a song for the first time.
The band also kept an infectious, upbeat tempo throughout the night, only delving into the odd slow song every now and then. Even the most stoic concertgoer was unable to keep from tapping a foot or nodding a head to the beat.
Rounding out the night with a demanded encore, Newman indulged the request of an excited fan up front before closing things out with the boisterous “The Town Halo” off his first album The Slow Wonder. “This is one of the most rockin’ of all our rockin’ songs,” Newman mused. The crowd erupted in head banging and jumps as the bass shook the floor. He wasn’t kidding.
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