Shawn Mullins at Club Passim

Everyone knows that I treat March Madness like a holiday, especially the first weekend, but I'm glad we were able to pull ourselves away from buzzer beaters, Cinderellas, and bracket busters Friday night so that we could go to the Shawn Mullins show at Club Passim.  Yes, that Shawn Mullins of Lullaby fame.

 We love Club Passim!  Club Passim is one of those iconic places in Cambridge, and after living in the city for eight years without going to a show, we're making up for lost time.  There's truly something magical when the lights go off in the small, basement club, and the candles (battery operated of course, this is Cambridge after all) flicker and the artist walks up to the stage.

There is so much history between these four walls from Joni Mitchell, to Bob Dylan, to Joan Baez.  I love that you can see the people walking down Palmer Street, staring in as they pass, as if trying to figure out what would draw so many people together.

On this night, it was Mullins, who opened his show by talking about the history of the club and how he missed out on his first opportunity to play on that stage many years ago because he got sick.  It seemed like he was really happy to be playing Passim and the show did not disappoint!

When Mullins first started singing, I could instantly hear Lullaby in his distinctive voice.  I'll admit, I had no idea about the music he has made since Lullaby.  I didn't know what to expect but JO and I both agreed it was an amazing show.

Mullins songs have so much depth, so much heart, that I felt like I was taking a bit of a journey with him.  From  We All Need a Little Sunshine to Light You Up the crowd was immediately drawn in.  When Shimmer showed up in the setlist the couple at the table next to us actually got up and danced, something I have never seen at Passim.  Towards the end of the night, Mullins played Lullaby and it was so perfect.  I was wondering if he would play this song but earlier in the night he assured the audience he would play it.  With the candles flickering, the evening winding down, and the beautiful accompanying music blending perfectly with the singing the song came alive.  Gone was my memory of the song playing all the time on the radio in 1998 (which he even joked about mid-song), replaced by the happiness and love you could see up on the stage.  Shawn Mullins is what Club Passim is all about~ the love of music!  Really, really good music!

If Mullins should perform again at Club Passim, or somewhere else local, I'll definitely go!

*Disclaimer~ I received two tickets to this show for writing this post*