Neon lights, a sound board and a stage replaced the Tavern's usual décor of tables and chairs Saturday night, while fans began lining up an hour before the doors to welcome Josh Kelley and Sam Grow to AU.
Kelley paired his college sense of humor with his pop-rock sound to create a show that could be described more as a dialogue between band and audience than the typical one-sided performance.
Opener Grow, a Maryland native, received a considerable amount of support from the crowd due to his powerful, heartfelt vocals. Aided by Mike Stacey on lead guitar, he played "Oh So Jaded" and "Wait A Minute," songs from his album, "Ignition," as well as several covers. Though a talented musician, Grow's set grew boring as his songs blended into each other, providing very little to distinguish one track from another.
But the headliner didn't inherit the issues of the opener. As soon as he walked on stage, Kelley displayed a sense of confidence found only in experienced musicians. Taking time to introduce each member of his band by name, he quickly set the mood for the evening - a comfortable, coffeehouse-style show with a dash of Kelley's willingness to laugh at himself and a heap of "your mom" jokes.
"I'm going to make you pee out of your eye sockets," Kelley told the crowd - only one of the times Kelley's casual and not entirely elevated sense of humor appeared in the between-song banter.
More than a comedian, Kelley made a genuine attempt to connect with the crowd, welcoming their shouted song suggestions and playing several of the requests. Throughout the set, he created a community by demolishing any sense of an elitist musician clique and inviting the audience to join in the fun.
"Are we good friends now?" Kelley asked between songs before telling the audience how attractive they looked.
But despite all of the jokes, when it came time to perform, Kelley and his band didn't mess around. Even songs that Kelley admitted they hadn't played together before were seamless, the collaboration resulting in a tight, unified sound that came to life with Kelley's hearty vocals.
Kelley kept the audience on their toes. Instead of playing only tracks from his newest album, "To Remember," he pulled out songs that had never been recorded, from "Lodi Dodi" to the song he wrote for the 2008 Summer Olympics, "To Remember."
Not only did Kelley switch up his set list but also changed the instrument lineup. Bouncing between piano and guitar for the bulk of the set, the biggest surprise came when Kelley switched places with the drummer in the middle of "Amazing." Though the song's pace marginally faltered because Kelley was drumming and singing, the crowd loved the unexpected change.
Kelley's performance, which ended with the rock 'n' roll "Only You," closed the night with a frenzy of instrumental solos, more compliments to the crowd and a few '80s poses. Amidst neon lights being taken down and the stage being disassembled, Kelley stuck around to talk to all the fans, making sure they knew they were definitely "good friends now."
You can reach this staff writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
