Live: Matt Wertz At Brighton Music Hall

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Last Saturday I went with a fellow devotee to see our musician crush, Matt Wertz, perform at the Brighton Music Hall. We'd seen Matt before at the Paradise, the House of Blues and mostly recently at Royale in the Theater District, but it had been over a year since he last came to Beantown.

We arrived at 8:00pm and soon after Matt's opening act Steve Moakler took the stage. We've had incredible luck with Matt's opening acts. That is how we discovered the Alternate Routes and Ben Rector. Steve has now officially joined that list of fun musical surprises!

Steve is originally from Pittsburgh, but has been living in Nashville for the last seven years. He wrote a hilarious country song about how he's not a country artist. It was my favorite of his set until he played a song called Hesitate. Download it now. You're welcome.

Around 10:00pm Matt took the stage and he came out with his acoustic guitar and one buddy, Nate Duggar, who was also playing acoustic. No band, no drums, no piano - just guitars and their voices.

This stripped down version of Matt was the best I have seen him. Somehow every song seemed more authentic and his voice seemed even more impressive.

Before the show started I said to my friend, "I really hope he plays Carolina. As long as that happens, I will be totally satisfied." What did Matt open with you ask? Yup. Carolina. From the first few notes I knew it was going to be a great night.

Matt played many of the old favorites - Red Meets Blue, Mary Anne, Sweetness in Starlight and more. I took this video of him singing The Way I Feel. Notice how loud the crowd is as they sing along to every word:


In addition to the hits, Matt also played two songs he is considering recording for his new album. My favorite was called Loved by You. I really hope it makes the cut!

After over an hour of rocking out, Matt left the stage. The crowd erupted in applause and demanded an encore. As part of the encore he invited Steve Moakler back on stage and together they sang a cover of Don Henley's song The Heart of the Matter. Here is a snippet of the performance:


I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed the acoustic version of Matt's tunes. I have been a fan now for many years and this is the best I've seen him. His friend Nate (who looked like an emo version of Michael Phelps) was a nice compliment. I really loved that new song and I can't wait for the next album.

What's great about seeing Matt live is that you get some of the familiar - his DTR joke (define the relationship), his curly hair dripping with sweat, his plug for the charity the Mocha Club, but then he also surprises you - no band, new songs and great stories about when he used to play at Harvard and BU. I can't wait to see what he does next.

Are you a Matt Wertz fan? What is your favorite song?