{"id":10783,"date":"2012-01-17T14:42:55","date_gmt":"2012-01-17T18:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/?p=10783"},"modified":"2012-01-17T14:46:22","modified_gmt":"2012-01-17T18:46:22","slug":"matt-cusson-at-rockwood-music-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/2012\/01\/17\/matt-cusson-at-rockwood-music-hall\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Cusson at Rockwood Music Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a title=\"Matt Cusson\" href=\"http:\/\/mattcusson.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Matt Cusson<\/a> played his first ever show at <a title=\"Rockwood Music Hall\" href=\"http:\/\/www.rockwoodmusichall.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Rockwood Music Hall<\/a> last night. I\u2019m sure it won\u2019t be his last.<\/p>\n<p>We hadn\u2019t heard of him before, though after reading about him, I\u2019m surprised at that. Thankfully, we have friends with excellent taste in music (in fact, we met them over a shared table at <a title=\"Joe's Pub\" href=\"http:\/\/www.joespub.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Joe\u2019s Pub<\/a>, a few years ago). They reached out and asked whether we wanted to join them for Matt\u2019s show. Without knowing anything about him, our answer was yes. <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-smile\" style=\"border-style: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/wlEmoticon-smile5.png\" alt=\"Smile\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/MattCusson.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"MattCusson\" src=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/MattCusson_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"MattCusson\" width=\"208\" height=\"216\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I encourage you to read about him as well, as my description from a single set won\u2019t do him justice. What I saw last night was a young man with a number of incredible talents:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>amazing keyboards player (electronic last night, but I think he avoided the grand just to be front-and-center on the stage, I didn\u2019t notice any particular effects)<\/li>\n<li>wonderful voice (including the kind of control that is required in a number of the styles that Matt sings, R&amp;B\/Soul\/Jazz)<\/li>\n<li>excellent songwriter (even though Matt made a name for himself in other bands and with cover tours, he will clearly eventually leave his mark with his own music)<\/li>\n<li>fantastic stage presence (even if the above weren\u2019t true, he could bluff his way through a set and people would walk out smiling, having enjoyed his quick wit, natural style and warmth)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/MattCussonKeyboards.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"MattCussonKeyboards\" src=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/MattCussonKeyboards_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"MattCussonKeyboards\" width=\"238\" height=\"216\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In addition to playing some of his own tunes (including one or two brand new ones), he played a couple of older ones (including Comfortable, a John Mayer cover which Matt was well-known for). He also played a short medley of Michael Jackson songs. From what I understand, his range is much broader than he had time to display last night.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/MattCussonSinging.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"MattCussonSinging\" src=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/MattCussonSinging_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"MattCussonSinging\" width=\"123\" height=\"216\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Matt was joined by two musicians:<\/p>\n<p>Rich Zurkowski on electric bass (I couldn\u2019t find a good individual link to him). Rich was <strong>outstanding<\/strong> on the bass. He was often the only melodic accompaniment (when Matt was playing chords), given that there wasn\u2019t a guitar as well. His fingers were flying up and down the frets the entire set, always sounding in perfect unison\/harmony with Matt\u2019s voice and keyboard play.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/RichZurkowski.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"RichZurkowski\" src=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/RichZurkowski_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"RichZurkowski\" width=\"168\" height=\"222\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>On one number late in the set, Matt highlighted the band, including giving Rich a really long lead. It was mind-bogglingly good. I\u2019m already looking forward to catching Rich again, any time, anywhere.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/RichZurkowskiBass.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"RichZurkowskiBass\" src=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/RichZurkowskiBass_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"RichZurkowskiBass\" width=\"240\" height=\"206\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Adam Hanson\" href=\"http:\/\/www.myspace.com\/adamjhanson\" target=\"_blank\">Adam Hanson<\/a> on drums. Adam did a nice job on the drums throughout. On the same song that Rich was highlighted, so was Adam. Matt prompted him to continue his introductory solo a few times, then turned it over to him later in the song again for a longer solo. While I enjoyed his play, he wasn\u2019t quite as loose or creative as Jazz drumming can\/should be.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/AdamHanson.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"AdamHanson\" src=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/AdamHanson_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"AdamHanson\" width=\"205\" height=\"216\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Matt introduced his fianc\u00e9e to the audience:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/MattCussonFiancee2.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"MattCussonFiancee2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/MattCussonFiancee2_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"MattCussonFiancee2\" width=\"192\" height=\"216\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/MattCussonFiancee1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"MattCussonFiancee1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/MattCussonFiancee1_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"MattCussonFiancee1\" width=\"170\" height=\"216\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Before the show, we had dinner with our friends at <a title=\"The Meatball Shop\" href=\"http:\/\/www.themeatballshop.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Meatball Shop<\/a>. So good, I\u2019m still thinking out the BBQ Pork meatballs (the special last night). We would eat there more often if it wasn\u2019t always so jammed (rightfully so).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/MerryLloyd.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"MerryLloyd\" src=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/MerryLloyd_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"MerryLloyd\" width=\"240\" height=\"181\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Thanks for introducing us to Matt Cusson, and for being willing to meet\/eat early enough to get seats at The Meatball Shop! <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-smile\" style=\"border-style: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/wlEmoticon-smile5.png\" alt=\"Smile\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Matt Cusson played his first ever show at Rockwood Music Hall last night. I\u2019m sure it won\u2019t be his last. We hadn\u2019t heard of him before, though after reading about him, I\u2019m surprised at that. Thankfully, we have friends with excellent taste in music (in fact, we met them over a shared table at Joe\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":4,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,17,2],"tags":[1202,81,1201,1367,1203,493,872],"class_list":["post-10783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food","category-music","category-2","tag-adam-hanson","tag-friends","tag-matt-cusson","tag-music","tag-rich-zurkowski","tag-rockwood-music-hall","tag-the-meatball-shop"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10783"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10786,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10783\/revisions\/10786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}