Jason Hammel of Mates of State tested his drums. Kori Gardner ran a few chords on the keyboards in front of her. Trumpeter John Panos blew a couple breaths through his trumpet. It all took only a couple minutes. But by the time Hammel introduced the band, seconds before it launched into its first number, it was unnecessary. Everyone knew who they were.
Brian Slattery Photo
The opening band, Alex Bleeker and the Freaks from Brooklyn, had brought a sound up I‑95 that combined amiable, country-inflected rock with spacey jams. They got heads nodding and cheers after every number. But there was open floor in front of Bar’s stage for their set, as though invisible dancers were there, turning and spinning in the space.
The crowd closed that space as soon as Hammel started his soundcheck, erupting in cheers when Mates of State hit the first note of their set. By the end of the first song, the floor of Bar’s expansive back room was full of people, a multigenerational crowd who had come to hear a pop duo, with delicious support from a horn player, that has turned out to have some real staying power.
Formed in 1997 in Lawrence, Kansas, Mates of State spent some time in California before moving in East Haven in 2004 and Stratford in 2007 (Gardner is originally from Trumbull). Gardner and Hammel built a musical career over eight albums, four EPs, constant touring, and numerous radio and television appearances, including on the David Letterman Show. Earlier this year they released an album of greatest hits (Greats) and an EP of new material (You’re Going to Make It), and embarked on a national tour from April to July that included a stop in May at College Street Music Hall for one of that venue’s earliest shows since its reopening. They’ve played some big festivals and some big stages. So it was a rare treat to see them in a space like Bar, where the band’s energy was enough to make the walls feel like they were bowing outward from the pressure.
Seeing Mates of State perform, it’s easy to understand why the band has lasted so long. Gardner’s, Hammel’s, and Panos’s nearly banterless set piled song upon song, each one a raging and ridiculously danceable anthem jammed with surging rhythms, soaring melodies, and tight, twisting harmonies. The musical chemistry between Gardner and Hammel — they’ve been married since 2001 — has only deepened, and Panos’s trumpet added grit and majesty to the duo’s sound whenever he appeared.
The band tore through a set that kept people moving until they couldn’t move any more. Toward the end of the evening, the crowd began to thin a little. In the very back of the room, you could walk from one end to the other in a straight line for the first time that night. But the front of the room, around the stage, was as packed as it was at the beginning of the set. The people who had come out to see Mates of State that night were connected and close, and they’d stay until it was over.
Mates of State’s next local show is at Cafe Nine on Nov. 21. And the Kids opens. Tickets are $12 in advance. Click here for more information.
