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Midway through his set at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, Jason Reeves smiled at the crowd and gave them some interesting words of encouragement. From under the brim of his faded green cap, he exclaimed, "Don't be afraid to sing along. Even if you don't know the songs, feel free to make up words and melodies. There are no crowd microphones, so don't worry." Various sections of the audience laughed, while most of the early twenty-something girls in the crowd remained transfixed on Reeves. He's funny, exudes charisma and can sing like a champ; what's not to love? After a 35 minute set of folky pop, no one in the audience could answer that question.

The set commenced with a strangely inviting tribal intro. Drums resounded, conjuring some pure musical voodoo and casting a spell before Jason even set foot on the stage. Sitting in the center with an acoustic guitar, he kicked off his seven-song set with "Pretty Eyes" from his album The Magnificent Adventures of Heartache (due out digitally on August 12th via Warner Bros). Its dreamy melody instantly captured the crowd. His voice channeled a tangible passion on the song's chorus and matched his smooth chord strumming seamlessly. Finishing up to big applause, Jason launched into "You In a Song." This is when the intermittent female cheers really began to start up, and once the song finished, various pockets of girls screamed in appreciation. Given his effect on the packed crowd, Jason may very well be an heir to John Mayer's throne. Like Mayer, Reeves crafts catchy pop songs with folk soul, and he filters it all through finger picked acoustic passages.

Before "Photographs & Memories," Jason's sense of humor once again took center stage. He smirked and softly said, "This song is about pictures eating people." Everyone laughed, and he continued. "It's something that you wouldn't expect pictures to do—until they do it. It usually happens in the dark, and you lose the person you love. You can't locate the photo's stomach, so it's hard to find them. Just work on keeping your pictures in frames and bolting them extra tight." Laughs abounded, and Jason proved he's got the timing to do standup comedy. Nevertheless, the tunes remain his strong suit. During the song, his voice carried the poignant and introspective lyrics, entrancing the crowd.

"The End" channeled Jason's somber side, but its faint melody was still heartfelt. The extremely infectious "Just Friends" was the perfect anthem for anyone exiting a relationship. He even prefaced that one with the line, "The notion of being 'Just friends' is a lie." It was quite a comment, also drawing a few chuckles. Jason's closing track, "Someone Somewhere," elicited the biggest reaction of the night, sparking a sing-a-long. Even if some didn't know the words, they took his advice and kept the love going. Don't you love that?

-Rick Florino
07.31.08