The biggest surprise of my Tuesday night was showing up to recordBar to watch Mates Of State and being greeted by a “Sold Out” sign. On the other hand it was no surprise that Mates Of State killed it. A group of hopeful fans were being turned away as I made my way into the dark bar. They most likely thought the same thing I did, “It’s just our old, local band, Mates Of State. There is no way it will sell out.” Well, we were both wrong.
I wandered into the overly stuffed recordBar right at the beginning of a set from Generationals. This dancey pop group hailing from New Orleans brought a bright, happy atmosphere to the eager crowd. It was made apparent that the enthusiasm for the set was shared by the band itself when the frontman commented that he was “impressed by the crowd” and expressed his relief that it wasn’t a repeat of “two years ago at Riot Room.” Generationals’ set was brief and pleasant. It was music you would listen to if you had a happy childhood (or just a bad memory of your unhappy one.) Cute, retro, keyboard driven pop with plenty of “Ooos” and “Aaahs” to go around.
After a quick stage dressing it was time for Mates Of State. They had adorned the stage with elaborate, homemade decorations. A wall of flowers hung behind them, fall leaves were draped all over the keyboards and drums, even the ceiling was decorated with two puffy clouds. As the band took the stage I overheard a group of girls behind me begin to get rather excited about the prospect of dancing. Apparently this is what most of the crowd had been planning for, because the moment the music started the bar erupted into a dance off. Accompanied, most fittingly, by a girly singalong. This is what Mates Of State are made for.
I noticed a bit of a change in the lineup since the last time I had seen the band play (Bleeding Kansas 2006, I believe.) To the classic piano and drum duo they had added an electric guitar player and another keyboardist who occasionally chimed in with athematic trumpet parts.
The first thing that shines through when you listen to Mates Of State are their driving, catchy choruses. The melodies, though simple and poppy, will stick with you for days. This band is also very well seasoned. For over a decade they have been playing crowded venues and have the experience of shows. Mates really know how to entertain a crowd and keep the show flowing. Just a few songs into the set they played the fan favorite “Shake It Off” then jumped straight into a new song. The new track was even more dancey and upbeat than the rest of the set, showing that with age the couple hasn’t soured at all.
On this night Mates Of State seemed larger than life, with a giant tour bus and a sold out show. At one point I had forgotten that they were the same band that I had known and listened to for so many years. I had to be reminded of their Lawrence heritage when, mid-set, they yelled out to their fans, “It is great to be back in town.”
I left recordBar encouraged by the show. Though the crowd consisted of mostly fans in their mid 30’s (possibly old faithfuls from back in the Lawrence days.) There were small pockets of younger fans who will hopefully carry on the success of the band. I am assured that as long as Mates Of State continue to play they will have an eager audience to play to.
Review written by Mat Shoare
