I was introduced to Ryan Montbleau’s music about a month ago through a friend. He writes for a local online magazine that showcased the top twenty up and coming artists to watch in 2013 in the Lowell area. As I viewed the article and previewed the music, I was liking a lot of artists, but not feeling that connection to most of the songs… until I clicked on Ryan Montbleau.
The 35 year old artist is a local from Peabody, MA. Soulful, hip and relatable, Ryan’s songs instantly grabbed my attention. At first, I was unsure how to categorize his voice, as I thought it was extremely unique. I instantly fell in love with his music and knew I had to see him perform live.
I found out that Ryan was to perform solo January 28, 29 and 30th at Club Passim in Cambridge, MA. He usually tours with his band, the Ryan Montbleau Band. I was looking to go to the Monday show; however, as I purchased my tickets the day before, I didn’t really have much of a selection. Both the Monday and Wednesday show were sold out, and the Tuesday show had only general admission tickets left! If there’s anything to say about selling out a venue… I knew he must be really good live. I happily purchased two tickets to the Tuesday night show for me and a friend for $30 each.
My friend had never heard of Ryan Montbleau, but as I was ranting and raving about how good his voice and lyrics sounded online, she happily agreed to go. We rushed to Cambridge straight after work. Parking was pretty easy to find. There was a parking lot right across the street from the venue that charged $20 for 2 hours or more. It’s great to have close parking to a venue, especially in the city where finding street parking is a nightmare.
The venue itself was nothing like what I expected. We actually walked by it at first! We were both anticipating a venue like The House of Blues or The Paradise Rock Club; however, Club Passim was actually a very small venue where “tickets” are actually seats at four person tables, and general admission is actually seats along the side of the room. People with seats at a table could order dinner and drinks from Veggie Planet, which was connected to the venue, while general admission could order drinks. If you’re by any means claustrophobic, I would not recommend going to an event at this venue. Tables and chairs were all very close together, making it hard for even the waitresses to maneuver throughout the room.
My friend and I got there much later than we would have liked. We were pretty much setting ourselves up for sitting somewhere near the back. But, when we turned the corner into the venue, there were a few seats up front available to the side of the stage. We were very happy to score these seats, but if we had to sit anywhere else in the room, we still would have had a great view as the venue was so small.
After a few minutes, a waitress came over to take our drink order. Drinks were fairly reasonably cheap, as a glass of wine was only $6.50. We scanned the food menu just to see what they offered, and everything is vegetarian. Many things looked delicious, such as their nachos with cheese dip and pizza. I’d like to try this venue again sometime and purchase tickets at a table to try the food.
This was Ryan’s second night performing at Club Passim. The night before, he did not have an opener. However, this night he did – Lyle Brewer. I hadn’t done any research on the opener, and was surprised at what we saw. Lyle is actually the lead guitarist in the Ryan Montbleau Band. He played his guitar solo for about a half hour.
After a quick break, Ryan Montbleau and two of his band members – Lyle Brewer on guitar and Matt Giannaros on the bass – ventured through the crowd of people to the stage. He walked up through the side where my friend and I were sitting and commented, “Nice seats.” I said we were excited to see the show, and the trio took the stage.
I was anticipating Ryan to be performing solo, so having a few members of his band there was a nice surprise. Although I do enjoy acoustic shows, I also love having depth to the music. The trio played for quite some time until Lyle took a break, leaving just Ryan and Matt on stage. After a few more songs, Matt took a break, leaving Ryan playing acoustically.
I personally really love Ryan’s music. As I said previously, I was having a hard time generalizing it, but after talking with my friend, we decided that he is (in our opinion) a mix of Michael Buble and Gavin DeGraw. Ryan has that old school feel to his vocals and rhythm as in Michael Buble’s songs while attaining the upfront uniqueness to his voice as Gavin DeGraw. While I didn’t feel the same amount of crowd interaction as I have felt at other shows, Ryan truly came across as a “real” human being. He wasn’t only putting on a show, but he was singing and feeling his songs, giving commentary in between. The emotional connection seen on stage while Ryan as singing his songs was priceless.
Ryan mentioned that he had been pursuing his music career for ten years. While he isn’t extremely well known, he did make it known that he is so grateful for all his fans and feels at home whenever he performs in the Boston area. It was apparent by the huge smile on his face when the audience was singing along to his music.
While Ryan performed many songs Tuesday night, some of my favorites were The Boat Song (Stages: Volume II 2009), Songbird (Heavy On The Vine 2010), and Yeah Man (For Higher 2012). The band comically ended the performance with the statement that they were just going to stand off to the side… as the entire audience cheered for an encore. They happily returned to the stage and performed a few more pieces, including “Egg,” a comical song literally about different ways to cook and eat an egg.
When the show was over, Ryan made himself available close to the exit for autographs, photos and/or just mere conversation. Many people waited to converse with the artist. Ryan was very personable, talking with my friend and I and taking a photo together. After our meet and greet, my friend and I each bought one of Ryan’s CD’s which were available for purchase for $15. Needless to say, we listened to them on our drive back home.
Overall, my first experience at a Ryan Montbleau show was an extremely positive one – small venue, front row seats, amazing vocals and lyrics. Despite the fact that Ryan hasn’t made it as “big” as other artists in his ten year music career, I’d say he’s doing pretty well for himself. I would absolutely attend another Ryan Montbleau show.
*Photos for this event aren’t of the best quality as flash photography was frowned upon!
Stuck on Music 