Guest Review by Ali
Andrew Mayer Cohen, better known as Mayer Hawthorne, is a singer, producer, songwriter, arranger, audio engineer, DJ, rapper, and multi-instrumentalist – a true renaissance man in the music world.
After playing to a packed house at the Fillmore on Saturday night, Mayer Hawthorne came to Public Works to spin a few after-hour tracks. Both openers, DJ Hakobo and DJ King Most, played up the crowd with some solid funk jams, but the place really came alive when Mayer Hawthorne came on stage. Normally dressed to impress in his signature retro-style suit coupled with thick plastic frame glasses, the casual look he donned – a sweater and jeans sans glasses – almost made Mayer Hawthorne unrecognizable.
The best way to describe Mayer Hawthorne’s stage presence is “smooth”. He’s completely calm, exuding a vibe of being at ease on stage, singing and dancing to each song he carefully chose to play for the crowd into the wee hours of Sunday morning.
As Mayer Hawthorne opened with one of his best songs, “Henny & Gingerale,” a fan in the crowd asked, “Does he know how amazing he is?” That was the question of the hour: Does Mayer Hawthorne know how fucking awesome he is!? The fans at Public Works on Saturday night are not the only ones singing Mayer Hawthorne’s praises. Rolling Stone writes, “Hawthorne emerges with a jaw-dropping collection of classic soul,” and they aren’t kidding. Soul mixed with modern funk is a dynamite combination and that’s exactly what Hawthorne delivers.
I haven’t seen a dance party like the one that was happening at Public Works on Saturday since my Mom’s birthday party. The crowd was getting their boogie on as he went on to play some classic soul and Motown tracks mixing in some rap and classic rock. A personal favorite was when he played Stealers Wheel’s, “Stuck in the Middle with You” singing along to every word. The overall funk and soul that Mayer Hawthorne played had the entire crowd dancing in ways that could make only our parents proud.
It would be an understatement to say Mayer Hawthorne rocked the house on Saturday night. The only bummer of the evening was not making the actual show earlier that night. Keep playing that funky music, white boy – I mean Mayer Hawthorne! Lay down and boogie and play that funky music till you die!
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