Jukebox Hero
Matt Huffman plays the hits like they were his own.
Thursday, April 7, 2005
For a second, when Matt Huffman started his set at Britannia Arms on a Tuesday night a few weeks ago, I thought that maybe the jukebox just suddenly started playing by accident. Honestly, I just wasn’t expecting such a strong voice from the laidback-looking, college-aged-or-slightly-older acoustic guitarist.
His first number of the evening was Bob Dylan’s “Oh, Sister,” from Dylan’s overlooked 1976 gem, Desire. A few seconds into the tune, Huffman made a slight mistake on guitar, smiled and kept playing.
With his strong soulful vocals and slightly different take on the song, it takes a few moments to figure out that his next song is Van Morrison’s “Wild Night.” Following “Wild Night,” Huffman performs strong renditions of The Eagles’ “Take It Easy” and Paul Simon’s “Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard” while looking down at a large notebook perched on a stool in front of him between songs.
By the time he played a tune by Jack Johnson, I realized that he is a talented cover artist who can make a handful of wide-ranging songs sound like he wrote them all.
Matt Huffman plays Britannia Arms, 444 Alvarado St. in Monterey, Tuesdays at 7:30pm. No cover. 656-9543. Huffman also plays the Mucky Duck, located at 479 Alvarado St. in Monterey, Sundays at 8pm. No cover. 655-3031.
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID