Photos and a review of Matt Berninger in Ottawa
[A collaboration of coverage with Ross MacDonald and Zachary Resnick. – AC]
Fans showed up in droves on Friday, March 20th to revel in the emotive, rich baritones that are the signature sound of one Matthew Donald Berninger.
Ottawa’s Bronson Music Theatre – fast becoming my favorite venue in the city – was the perfect space for this show. Berninger shines brightest in smaller, intimate settings where his charm and towering presence ensure a memorable experience.
Opening the show was Vancouver’s singer/songwriter Hannah Georgas. Soft blue spots illuminated the stage amidst the dreamy opening chords of ‘Enemies.’ This track featured just drums and two keyboards, but the sound was rich.
Georgas picked up her guitar for the sombre ‘Scratch.’ Following that, ‘Easy’ had a touch of synth-y dreamwave sound to it.
The drums hit a bit harder on ‘That Emotion,’ then Georgas cut even deeper with ‘Same Mistakes,’ a song about her own dysfunctional family.
To whet the crowd’s appetite, Georgas brought out Berninger for ‘Pray it Away,’ a song that the duo had recorded together during the pandemic lockdowns of 2020.
Red spotlights then gave a moodier tone to ‘Lost Cause.’ The final two songs of the set particularly highlighted Georgas’ own brand of emotionally-laced indie-pop. ‘Robotic’ had a bit of a quicker tempo to it, serving to amp up the energy a notch.
She closed out her set with ‘Elephant’ and its heartbeat-like drums to an impressive pop from an impressed audience.
While the stage crew set things up for the main event, we chatted with some fans who told us that they’d been lucky enough to have a VIP experience, where not only did they get to attend Berninger’s sound check, he actually came down and interacted with them. One person showed us a video clip of Berninger giving the baseball cap that he was wearing to a young fan in a wheelchair. Class act, if you ask me.
After a brief pause, Berninger and his backing band emerged to the sounds of Paul Anka’s ‘Times of Your Life’ – a fitting, Canadian entrance.
The National frontman and lyricist opened with ‘No Love,’ a syrupy-smooth groove to get everyone in a good mood. Mimicking his actions from sound check, he descended into the crowd to grab a hug from a fan mid-song.
Up next was ‘Frozen Oranges,’ which ran a bit slower and fittingly had the band lit in orange light. After a brief pause to introduce his stage mates, we were treated to the doleful ‘Breaking into Acting.’
The audience was singing along to these first three tunes, and it was clear that Berninger was feeding off the energy. He very obviously loves his fans, constantly making eye contact and singing directly to audience members.
While Berninger usually lets his voice do the entertaining, he told us that he’d recently “Become extremely good at the harmonica,” which he then proved by breaking one out during ‘Distant Axis.
‘Silver Springs’ was up next, and while it had been a pretty chill set so far, every single member of the audience was enraptured by the performance.
The first of three new songs that Berninger had been working on during the tour, ‘Invisible Jerk,’ was one of the set highlights. Perfect for listening through headphones on a rainy day.
‘Nowhere Special’ followed, a twisting, turning, sometimes meandering masterclass in musical storytelling.
The ivories were the star in ‘Silver Jeep,’ which brought some electricity to the room. This was followed quickly with ‘Little by Little,’ where Berninger really turned things up on stage.
Georgas returned to lend her voice to a rendition of The National’s ‘Light Years.’ While Vancouver is her home these days, she’s an Ontario native (shoutout Newmarket!) and the Ottawa crowd was very enthusiastic about their province mate’s performance as she gave her all.
Another National hit, ‘Terrible Love,’ followed and by this point every single audience member was on their feet, vibing along. Berninger closed out the set with the explosive ‘Bonnet of Pins.’
But that wasn’t all. Coming back for a three-song encore, the highlight of which was a morose cover of New Order’s ‘Blue Monday,’ Berninger and co. left us all floating on air as we filed out of the room.
It cannot be overstated how much of a performer Berninger is. He plays to his audience, spending almost as much time amongst them as on stage. He shines brightest in smaller venues like the Bronson Music Theatre, and I hope to catch him again soon.
