Seattle native, Noah Gundersen, treated fans to an intimate show at Evanston’s S.P.A.C.E. this past Thursday.  With a similar feel to Chicago’s City Winery, the room was lit by the flickering of candlelight and a few lights shining down on Gundersen.  On the stage by himself, Gundersen gave a very raw, honest performance which had the audience listening with rapt attention.

Gundersen sounds perfect live.  His vocals were not to loud or too soft, too raspy nor too sweet.  He switched between acoustic and electric guitars effortlessly.  To lighten the mood and connect with fans between songs, Gundersen asked everyone to please pardon his leather jacket saying that he didn’t want to come off as a prick, and that the stage was actually quite chilly!  For someone with such emotive lyrics, I think the comment initially caught fans off guard.  He continued with the banter between songs, explaining the consequences of spending too much time cooped up in a Nissan Ultima by yourself, describing his affection for the city of Chicago, and jokingly asking fans to please refrain from recording his new material on their iPhones and then putting the sub par version on YouTube later.  In one of the funnier moments, Gundersen changed the lyrics of one of his songs to describe a man in the back of the room who was unabashedly messing around his phone during the performance and advising him to turn the brightness down to conserve his battery.

It was a fantastic night of music, relaxation, and laughs.  I’m sure we will be seeing more of Gundersen in the future!

More photos here.