REVIEW: Jason Schmidt At The Mercury Lounge
THERE IS NOTHING LIKE STARTING A NEW MONTH IN A DIVE BAR ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE. As a new resident of New York City, I was happy to attend Jason Schmidt’s show with Haven Madison on Tuesday, Oct. 1. The pair had two shows because the original sold out with such high demand. It has been special to speak with Schmidt before the release of “Growing Up” and now witness the single's success in the back of a crowd singing the lyrics back to him. Complete with his mother and college roommate running the merch booth, it was an unforgettable night.
Schmidt’s high energy during the opener “Hey Hailey” was contagious throughout the crowd. As he worked through his released music and treated us to unreleased songs that will circle my brain drain until their release, fans swayed, danced, and screamed along to “My Ego Loves You” and “Growing Up.”
Schmidt shared pieces of his life all night giving context to the songs and their lyrics. He mentioned gratefully that his father would listen to all of his music when he first started while his music was “probably not worth listening to.” His father encouraged him and joined the writing process resulting in “New Song Thursday” where every week they would come together to write. The two of them worked on “Dark Surrender” together, the pop ballad made me wish there was more room to swing my friend around the dance floor.
“You Can’t Stop Me Now” has an iconic electric guitar strum keeping your head nodding along to the song written during a string of career-related disappointments following Schmidt’s move to L.A. Schmidt wrote it to challenge his mentality and manifest self-confidence and now shares it as a testimonial with fans in hopes it can help them be unstoppable too.
The night ended with a solo acoustic performance “Little Blue World” which was the perfect closer to remind everyone that it will all work out in the end. The crowd made up of friends, family, coworkers, and fans sang along with a gentle sway and perhaps glassy eyes.
