I'll care for you

Michael Bernard Fitzgerald aka MBF played the Starlite room on Saturday, fitting for Valentines Day weekend. He's a genuinely sweet guy from Calgary, Alberta with what seems like not a mean bone (or song) in his body.

Before I gush about MBF, let me talk about his two, thats right two, opening acts: Calm Asa Coma, and Lyra Brown. I hadn't heard about either of these artists before the show. Calm Asa Coma also hails from Calgary, and really impressed me. As a "local" band (Alberta cred), I really enjoyed that they knew how to use their instruments and vocals together, instead of one drowning the other out (a shame that tends to happen a lot with bands). They had a indie-rock flow, but really were surprising for an opening act for MBF.
Even more surprising was Lyra Brown (not typical to see two opening bands for a local artist, in a small venue). I'll be honest, she looked like she was 12, and her backing guitarist & drummer didn't look that much older than that. But she had quirky lyrics and was very dance-able. I'm actually just reading up on her website now, and she has more of a backstory than I previously thought. It's pretty interesting to hear what this young artist has already been up to, take a minute, and read up. She was also the only one performing from Edmonton.

I first saw MBF opening for OK Go last summer in the same venue, and when we heard he was coming back to Edmonton as the main act we bought tickets two months in advance and started counting down the days. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what it is about this crooner that has so many girl's hearts. I feel that it's that he's just very honest about the way he feels, and doesn't try to use cliched lyrics or phrases to get you to hooked. And yes, its apparent the majority of this songs are about the ladies, but he's not a one-dimensional writer, which can be heard in the songs "Movie Life" or new "In the Woods" (both about living the Hollywood lifestyle).








Now I know I've spoken and described the Starlite Room before, but after attending different venues I'm beignning to relize some of it's unfortunate flaws. The pit is slanted downwards from the stage, so when you're standing it sure does a number on your calves. So much so, that during the 3 set changes at least half of the audience would sit down directly on the floor to avoid the strain (well that's why we sat, and it seemed like most were doing it for the same reasons). Also since the stage is set so high, and we were at the front, about halfway through MBF's set, I started to get cramps in my neck from having to look up. It just makes an otherwise amazing concert a little less so. Also, for some reason, MBF was late to come on stage...quite a bit late, so that it was noticed. He apologized even which was nice to hear, and I was just reading his twitter also apologizing while Lyra Brown must have just been finished.

MBF knows how to entertain a crowd, with his brand of cute-folk-rap. Yes, rap. It's occaisional but just that much more special. It's amazing how long he can rhyme for without taking a breath, and even better when you take that minute to try and soak in every clever lyric.

During a few of the songs he had a large backing band, and I mean large: three fellas in the horn section, a guitarist, bassist, two drummers and three back up singers. Such a big change from the three people on stage during his OK Go opening. And although the others added energy to the show, I'll admit my favourite part was when section by section (and song by song) they would walk off stage, leaving Fitzgerald alone during the middle of the set. With the lights turned way down low, by his request, the room could not have felt more intimate if they had set up candlelight.

It seems like at least one person in the audience was expecting this atmosphere...One of the sweetest thing's I've seen happened during MBF's set, when between "Susie, I love you" and "Care for You", he asked one girl in the audience to turn over her ticket. After a bit of silence, Fitzgerald said "I know you're excited but there's a whole audience that wants to know what that has to say!"...and the response was "Will you marry me?". Don't get in a tizzy like the girl's next to me did, thinking that HE was in fact proposing...but get ready to Aww that the girl's boyfriend had gone through all this trouble to get the proposal just right. Before this it was already the most romantic concert I could think of attending, and after, well there's nothing that can beat that. Now I know how I want to be proposed to.

So many words used to describe Michael Bernard Fitzgerald are overused (and therefore seem less special) for the wrong reasons these days. He's sweet, he cares, he's sentimental. It seems to me that these words are constantly used to decribe fellas, but how often is it blatantly and obviously true (with sincerity, not just to "get with" a girl)?
With songs like Love Your Soul, Can't be Done With You, and Care for You, I dare you to listen and not feel the teeniest bit of real emotion and heart. Not only is it easy to relate to his thoughtful and sweet lyrics, but when hearing his recording, just the same as hearing his voice live, you can feel the emotion through his voice. (Though in my opinion he's one of those rare artists that are much better live than on CD, the only reason being that it is the in-the-moment sincerity that plays such a huge role in his songs)


To sum up: it's a feat not to swoon and get a little weak-kneed for MBF. If the privilege ever gets passed on to your town, don't pass up the chance to let him melt your heart.