Kafka, Nathanson Prove To Be Crowd Pleasers

Matt Nathanson and UConn student Vanessa Kafka wowed the audience Saturday at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts. The two left the crowd satisfied with their acoustic guitar sets.

Clad in a Motorhead T-shirt and a nose ring, Nathanson - who had at UConn last winter opening for Ryan Cabrera - opened with his hit love ballad "Suspended," and promised the audience "we're gonna make sweet love."

Although not a full house, the crowd made its presence known by screaming comments such as "you're hotter than Ryan [Cabrera]."

The audience mainly consisted of high school and college-aged students, which was a relief since much of Nathanson's conversation with the audience was adult-oriented. The demographically appropriate jokes elicited a positive response from concert-goers.

Nathanson played a set consisting of a few new songs that will be on his upcoming album, "Beneath These Fireworks." He warned the audience it was his first time playing these pieces solo so "if it sounds a little weird, it probably is."

As Nathanson passionately strummed his guitar, and the listeners responded with positive feedback to his newly penned songs.

According to Nathanson, lyrics are the last item he adds to a composition.

"Lyrics are the most important part and they take a long time to become what they want to become," Nathanson said during a pre-show interview.

The set included songs from his previous albums such as "Lucky Boy," "Church Clothes," "Princess" and "Bend," a song in which Nathanson had recently confessed to his inspiration for this song that it was about a woman from his past.

Along with his original work, Nathanson also did covers of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" and Cat Stevens' "Wild World."

Nathanson's tour was originally planned to start in New Orleans, but due to Hurricane Katrina, "we're starting our tour in Orlando," Nathanson said.

Over the summer, Nathanson has been putting the finishing touches on his upcoming albums, one of studio recordings and one of live performances.

"The acoustics were very powerful and his voice was very passionate and raw," said Stephanie Chivers, a 7th-semester coaching and administration major.

Kafka, a 7th-semester operations and information management major, gave a crowd-pleasing performance.

Much of the audience attended the show to show their support for Kafka.

"She was absolutely awesome," said concertgoer Nina Hansen, who was there to see Kafka.

Kafka's 20-minute set included songs such as "Gold," a cover of Natalie Imbruglia's "Left of the Middle," and the apparent crowd favorite "Silhouette."

Saturday's performance was the largest venue in which Kafka has played, receiving a standing ovation at the end.

Not only did the crowd have a good time, Kafka said she also "definitely had fun, overwhelmingly fun."

Kafka mingled in the lobby in between sets while she signed CDs and spoke to fans.