Back in March, I recommended the Passion Pit show for not only the headliner, but also the opener: Mayer Hawthorne. He returned to Cleveland on October 29, this time headlining a show at the Grog Shop.
Hawthorne was joined on stage by his backing band, The County. Referring to The County as a "backing band" hardly does them justice, as they are clearly the paint to the canvas that is Hawthorne's voice, which sings to 60s American R&B, on a retro soul tip that hipsters, hip hop heads, indie rockers and even old timers can all appreciate. This was echoed in the crowd: a smattering of all the real diversity that exists in Cleveland, but is rarely seen in one place. We were all together dancing, clapping, jiving. While it may not have been a full capacity crowd, there was more than enough capacity in this crowd.
Mayer Hawthorne and The County ripped through a set that lasted a little over an hour, including an encore. I was duly impressed by the tightness of Hawthorne and The County's sound, and while the studio recordings are polished and solid in their own right, they fail to deliver the gusto found in each live performance.
Mayer was a master showman, engaging the crowd, sharing anecdotes from the road, like when he was mistaken for Tobey Maguire. He also taught us the simple dance that they do back in Detroit called the "Errol Flynn". (You can view a snapshot of this moment here, when he encouraged the crowd to "rain down" during his sultry jam, "I Wish It Would Rain".)
Being more than complimentary about the women in the audience, Mayer Hawthorne wasn't shy about letting us know "that Cleveland has the finest ladies" he has seen on tour. Hawthorne tried to help the singles in the house get together by suggesting they raise their hands, then once they knew who was available, he told the fellas to go buy these ladies a drink, talk to them or maybe just go dance with them. He is smoother than smooth; he clearly has snatched the king of white boy soul away from Justin Timberlake. In his arsenal, he can surprise you with elements of Beck, Sting and Frank Sinatra.
Really holding his own on the material from his debut album, A Strange Arrangement, Hawthorne seemed to cast a spell on the crowd who gave a great call and response, singing along to almost every word on his singles: "Maybe So, Maybe No, Just Ain't Gonna Work Out" (the first song he ever wrote), "Green Eyed Love" and "Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin'".
Hawthorne's music, while the themes and sounds are familiar, is emotionally stirring. Along with original material, Hawthorne and company played a handful of great covers, including Snoop Dogg's "Beautiful", and a very inspired cover of the Doobie Brothers' "What a Fool Believes", where he simply nailed the high and low notes Michael McDonald made famous. Hawthorne treated the classics with reverence, including covers of Otis Leavill's "I Need You" and the Isley Brothers' classic, "Work to Do," which closed the show.
