On Friday night Thom and I went to see Matt Alber sing at the Hotel Utah. He looked and sounded great. We fell in love with his music back when his video for “End of the World” came out, with its unabashedly gay romance. (In 2009 when Thom and I had our wedding, we put his song “Walk with Me” on the CD favors.)
He sang a bunch of songs from his CD Hide Nothing, including “Monarch,” “Field-trip Buddy,” “Walk with Me,” and “Rivers and Tides,” as well as other songs, both his own, like “The River,” and others’, like “Take a Bow” and a slow, soulful “Walking on Sunshine.” The Hotel Utah is a very small venue, and so it was packed and “sweaty” (his words) in there, but it was nice to see him in such an intimate space and hear him sing with just guitar or piano. He says he’s coming back to San Francisco this fall (Cafe du Nord next time), with a new CD, so I’m looking forward to seeing him again. Do check him out for heartfelt music and a voice you just want to curl up in.
Here’s the video for “End of the World,” which he sang and dedicated to his father for all his help and support:
Update: Matt Alber’s show at Joe’s Pub in New York on Monday, June 6 was webcast live and the video is now available online: