Finally the air has cooled off, making shows at New World Brewery a little less sticky. On Wednesday the weather was brisk and invigorating, perfect for the fans of Matt Pond PA.

Opening the show was the local 2-piece, King of Spain. It wasn’t exactly the best way to kick off this concert, at least in regards to setting the tone for what was sure to be an exciting experience. King of Spain is a sitting band, one bass, one guitar, and a drum machine. It’s hard to take a sitting band seriously, especially during an otherwise rock n roll show, and it’s even harder to take a drum machine seriously. The most heart breaking part of it is that these guys were legitimately good. They were a kind of U2 throwback, a little new age, with vocals quiet and gruff in a way similar to The National, reverb soaked guitars, epic riffs and big sound. The unfortunate part was that it was impossible to ignore the cookie cutter tone of the drum machine behind them. The beats themselves were written surprisingly well, but it didn’t make the listening experience any easier. I hope that they are having a hell of a time finding a drummer, and they aren’t going without by choice. King of Spain would have been really enjoyable if they were standing, able to put some energy out there, and if they had live drums holding it down.

Touring with Matt Pond PA was Company (Co.), appropriately setting the tone for the rest of the show. These guys weren’t afraid to show off their southern routes, but not so much that it was contrived or excessive, at least in their music. The projection of bison, meadows and sunsets oddly angled above them was a bit contrived and excessive. Laded upon their predominately country rock was an interesting and unexpected layer of early the 90s, the kind of crushing guitars and bizarre shredding one would expect from the likes of Dinosaur Jr., and Company’s front man wasn’t afraid to show off his J Mascis-esc chops in a couple of songs. Co. could have shown a little more enthusiasm, and it was impossible to decipher the lyrics as they were lost in a kind of mumble-hum, but their set was enjoyable none-the-less.

For King of Spain and Company the crowd was sparse, spread out around New World, at the bar, outside and at the foosball table. But when Matt Pond PA took the stage the floor was dense with almost every person there. The small crowd packed at the front of the stage like sardines illustrated the kind of following Matt Pond PA has: loyal. Though Matt Pond never broke through to super-fame over his long tenor, he has achieved a solid base of devoted fans, which in many respects is just as good if not better. Matt Pond had a wonderful rapport with the audience. They were just itching to hear him say anything, and eager to laugh at any joke, and he seemed to keep the whole front row gleaming throughout the show. Their set included a relatively diverse selection from most albums, and though some of the newer material from Dark Leaves was received with at best some food-tapping and head-nodding, his older songs like “So Much Trouble” were met with lots of singing and shaking from the audience. To some degree, which is a bit sad, it seems that Matt Pond has become a nostalgic band to many, not so much a band who’s next album you greatly anticipate. But that’s just the impression I got from speaking to a few people and the audience’s reaction and general. One guy said to me, “Yeah, I love Matt Pond! I used to listen to him all the time!” Either way the set was fantastic, and long enough to satisfy everyone’s hunger.