Greg Mendez moves modest crowd with recent work at recordBar

1 hour ago

Alex Agueros,

Greg Mendez. // photo by Alex Agueros

Dressed in a plain shirt, jeans, and rugged boots, Philadelphia singer-songwriter Greg Mendez humbly took the stage, put his head down, and performed his growing collection of elegant and vulnerable vignettes in front of about 50 people on Saturday, August 22, at recordBar in Kansas City.

Mendez passed through his backlog in a near-stream-of-consciousness. Slugging water to fight a slight cough between songs, his banter was limited to a couple of questions for those in attendance: “Anybody know what time it is?” and “You guys wanna hear anything else I haven’t played?” He honored a quiet request for “Alone,” a sickly catchy song given its heart-wrenching portrait.

“And the wind is yelling at me, ‘Return to sin,’” Mendez sang. “I’m a lonely winter away from giving in. I’m alone.”

Greg Mendez. // photo by Alex Agueros

Much of the early crowd sat cross-legged on the floor for Maria BC’s hypnotic opening set, but attendees stood up ahead of Mendez walking out. “Sunsick,” a relatively subdued track at the heart of his latest album Beauty Land, released in May on Dead Oceans, was an especially well-suited opener for Saturday’s intimate solo performance.

“I pretend you miss me like you did,” Mendez sang. “Every time I get groceries.”

Emphasis on Beauty Land, his self-titled 2023 critical breakout, and the in-between extended play First Time / Alone showcased the sharp songwriting responsible for his transition from a DIY veteran to a critically acclaimed artist making a living off his music. Transitions between old and new were particularly rewarding, illustrating the dues paid en route. Despite more than 10 years between writing “Hope You’re Doing Okay” and “I Wanna Feel Pretty,” the duo sounded cut from the same cloth in a solo acoustic setting.

“Sweetie,” “Concussion,” and “First Time,” each released over the last three years, represented the keyboard section of Saturday’s set. Between the tone of his instrument, his pecking at the small instrument balanced on his lap, and ending the run with a light twinkle at the end of “First Time,” Mendez faithfully illustrated the charm and sorrow contained in his best songs.

“I would’ve lost in any fight,” Mendez sang. “I know it’s not the first time that you’ve been right.”

All photos by Alex Agueros