have you ever been minutes away from watching one of your favorite artists live, hoping that they would live up to your unrealistic expectations, while questioning whether they could or not? well, the week before south by southwest, i experienced the same sentiment, as i caught mayer hawthorne on his first trip to dallas. roshan and aj were also fortunate enough to experience the same live magic in houston, and the three of us were fortunate enough to experience it one more time at sxsw, but that’s a different story.

we caught the man himself on the road with openers nikki jean (may we just say – damn.) and dj houseshoes as the openers. mayer hawthorne and backing band the county have been trekking across the country winning over and soothing hearts and souls, while managing to shape a new generation of soul music fans.

hit the cut for the review, along with photos from the houston show.

– panda

upon entrance into the bar area of the palladium ballroom, i realize that i had just taken a seat next to none other than mr. hawthorne himself. now, had i been a more sober man, i would have approached him with a bit more tact and wit. instead, i kind of ranted at him for a minute about being a long time fan, the blog, sxsw, and proceeded to walk away after the sudden realization of my actions. being a down to earth cat, mayer was gracious and talkative, without being too talkative. enigmatic status achieved, mr. hawthorne.

shortly after walking up to the loft/venue area and grabbing, we were greeted with the sights and sounds of miss nikki jean, whom you may recognize from previous work with lupe fiasco. if you happen to find yourself at any of the remaining tour dates, be sure to show up early. this woman has an incredibly charming presence, and her backing band goes off and stays on point like none other. her brief, yet engaging set was filled with soul and energy, and chock full of tracks from her upcoming debut album. for those who had known her by her aforementioned work with lupe fiasco were treated to her own rendition of “sunshine,” from food & liquor, which was an obvious standout.

after having miss jean warm the crowd up, i began to notice the ridiculously good music blaring from the PA system. as i turn to my right, i notice that it’s none other than detroit legend dj houseshoes, who is spinning tracks in between sets. prior to talking to actually seeing him, i had no clue that houseshoes was even going to be in the building that night. amidst spinning a seamless blend of old and new school hip hop, both underground and mainstream, i realized that i’ve never enjoyed waiting for a headlining act more than i did at that moment.

houseshoes kept the beats coming and the heads bobbing. for those slightly unaware, dj houseshoes maintained a close friendship with the j dilla, working in close quarters with the legend. hands down the best moment of the night for me personally was having the chance to hear him spin a medley of dilla tracks. despite living in dallas, i don’t go to nearly as many hip hop shows as i’d like, let alone hear j dilla songs played in a club or venue. this was a heartfelt moment that any dilla fan would appreciate.

after having the mood set by his openers and hitting the stage in his most dapper, mayer hawthorne & the county took the stage and tore into “your easy lovin’ ain’t pleasin’ nothin.'” now, to address my the question posed at the beginning of this review, i was honestly skeptical about what to expect from his live show. this is an artist who i have been hyping for quite some time now and have held in great regard simply due his passion for soul music. if ever there was a doubt in my mind, the first 20 seconds of their performance laid them all to rest. my feet were instantly moving, my head was shaking, and i didn’t stop dancing and singing way too loudly (which i’ve been notorious for) until the end of every song.

performing in front of an intimate crowd definitely aided and abetted mayer’s favor. throughout the set, you felt like you were a part of an inspiring and elite secret that you wanted to scream about from a mountain top (this would later come full circle at sxsw’s fader fort, where mayer played to the biggest crowd of the night). the band ran through a perfect set list, playing nearly every song i wanted to hear from his debut album, a strange arrangement. the band also tossed in a couple of covers for good measure, most notably n.e.r.d.’s “fly or die” and biz markie’s “just a friend.” between the county’s instrumentation and mayer’s soulful croon, the band may still just be getting started, but managed to pull off a show of veteran proportion.

post-hawthorne performance, houseshoes proceeded to round the night out by spinning some more tracks for the extremely long line of people waiting for the chance to pick up an album and meet mayer & the boys of the county. as for me, i stood by the bar, bobbing my head to the beats, with the evening’s events spinning like a great night out and mayer hawthorne ending it like your favorite nightcap.

videos from the show can be seen here.

setlist:

– panda