Show review: John Sullivan at Mayne Stage, 9/16

By Mike Sullivan

Photo: Mike Sullivan

John Sullivan, a multi-instrumental singer/songwriter/producer and former member of the '90s band Loudmouth, debuted his collection of personal songs last night at Mayne Stage. With Loudmouth, John had a number seven hit on the Billboard charts ("Fly") and also currently plays in a great '80s cover band called 80's Enough, but this performance marked his first original solo set.

John played a 10-song acoustic set with the help of Rob Medinger on drums and Matt Kooi on keyboards. This seemed to be the perfect combination of instruments for these songs. The acoustic guitar helped keep the mood of the show mellow, but the drums and keyboards gave it a bit of a punch to make you feel the vibe that John was pushing. The set had a nice gradual progression, starting out lightly with “Liberation," moving into “One Way Ride" and gaining a little more momentum with each song. The final song, “The Liar,” really pushed you over the edge. You couldn’t have asked for a better ending to a set. John has put a lot of time into these songs and it really shows. We're looking forward to him performing his solo work more around town.