Matt Pond

Matt Pond is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Emblems by playing the album from front to back.  The D Man and Mrs. D Man had a blast on Saturday night catching the show.  After eight albums and constant touring, Pond is now a seasoned front man; his vocals are strong and dexterous and he can annunciate his lyrics over the top of the music, allowing listeners to catch each word supported by his slight gravelly tone.  We were thoroughly impressed with his performance.  And he was cool enough to chat with fans, take pictures, and even hang out with the crowd during the enjoyable opening set from The Lighthouse and the Whaler.

Emblems is arguably Pond's best album (along with its 2005 follow-up Several Arrows Later); the melodic guitar-pop songs are driven by Pond's observational lyrics and accented by astute cello work.  Pond grew up in northern New Hampshire, the son of a minister, and Emblems evokes distant summers and loves among the trees and streets of his home.  On the current tour, Pond is backed by long-time guitarist Chris Hansen, bassist-keyboardist Tierna Tough, drummer David Montague, and cellist Shawn Alpay.  The band rocked harder in person, but this is still accessible and earnest pop music at its core.

Pond recently described his fifteen years of album-making and touring:

"I think I just write a ton of songs, for some reason or another.  In one way, I feel lucky and in some ways it's like a burden.  I never really thought I'd do this for a living.  I thought I'd be some kind of lazy history professor, so this is a weird thing.  I just keep writing songs and keep the best ones and throw out the clunkers.  I mean, we might come out with another album this year.  I don't know.  You gotta get some kind of . . . it becomes how you live your life.  When you make an album, you go on tour and all of that, so it's a part of my life.  I just don't know anything else."

Mrs. D Man also thought Pond was handsome.  So there was that.

• KC.  It is always interesting when a band sounds heavier and harder in person, but they still manage to retain their melodic essence.  Such was the case with songs like KC.
• Closest (Look Out).  Just a great power-pop song.
• Lily Two.
• Bring on the Ending.  Pond seemed to hit full vocal stride while dealing with this different time signature.
• The Butcher.  The album's sonic centerpiece.  The song's warm immediacy and cello lines turn into something desperate.  The guitars and cello were driving.
• New Hampshire.  Perhaps the band's signature song, "New Hampshire" was featured on the indie-rock soundtrack of the Fox series The O.C. (which apparently favored the sweet melancholia over geographic accuracy).  I'm going home / back to New Hampshire / I'm so determined / to lay in lakes / and see my sisters / I will hit my brother / and hold my mother.
• Claire.
• Summer (Butcher Two).  The D Man has always loved the lazy nostalgia of these romantic memories.
• East Coast E.
• Last Song.
• Grave's Disease.  Definitely one of the show's highlights.  The cello shined on this lovely number.
• Close (KC Two).

Encore

• Halloween.  The encore consisted of four great songs from other Pond albums.  The opening track from Several Arrows Later has always been a favorite.  Strangely, I have often listened to Pond records while working out.  So I have hit the treadmill with "Halloween" on more than one occasion.  Heard it's modern to be stupid.  You don't need to talk to look good.
• Measure 3.
• Love to Get Used.  This song just makes me happy.  Catchy and unadorned.  I give my love to get used!
• Starting.