Mission South can get what they want – and you can too

It was a lazy Thursday night and, to be honest, if I hadn’t already committed to go I probably would’ve just stayed home and watched Glee. But I didn’t. And like most things of this nature, I came home happy that I had pushed myself out the door and onto the subway. Because it’s rare that you see people doing just what they’re meant to be doing. But when you see it, you know. And it’s hard not to be inspired by it. Especially when so many of us are trying now to find that next big “thing” that gives us purpose, fuels our passion, pushes us further.

With Mission South, it becomes apparent within the first 20 seconds they’re on stage that these three guys are doing exactly what they’re meant to be doing. There’s a connectivity between them that builds upon the riffs and chords and really adds to the concert experience. They’re playful on stage, and they’re not afraid to show that they’re enjoying themselves.

I should say out front that I’m an avid Mission South supporter, partly because I went to college with their front man. But I’m also a realist, and I know when I like things, and I know when I hate them, and as most people who know me can attest, I’m rarely quiet with my true opinions for too long. The boys wear a we’ll-see-where-this-goes attitude over a clear and sharp sense of ambition, professionalism, and direction. Talking to someone in the crowd, a fellow Tulane alum who tends to pop up whenever Mission South rolls into town, we remarked at the fact that these guys aren’t just your stereotypical, age-old garage band trying to make a few bucks on stage or jamming in some basement after school. They may have been that at one point – and I don’t knock it – but they’re not that anymore. They’ve grown into themselves, both in body and sound, and seeing them on Thursday was the most mature and legitimate I’ve heard them sound in, well, ever. Somewhere between tour one and the recording and subsequent release of Migration Volume 2, this band filled the big shoes they laid out for themselves. And they also became a testament of never underestimating the power of someone’s passion.

The boys asked two things of concert goers on Thursday. “One, we ask that you have a good time. You groove, you meet some new people, you have a few drinks.” That last line got laughs from an audience who had clearly taken that advice to heart a few hours before. “Two, take one step towards the stage and make this a really special moment for us.” I stepped in and I don’t think they realized it, but the moment was special for more people than just the three on stage. Because people know the real thing when they see it.

And from the looks of that crowd, more people are figuring out that they like what they hear.

Check out the rest of Mission South’s upcoming shows here – with one very special appearance at one of the best college music festivals in the country, Crawfest at Tulane University. All former-Tulanian bias aside, next weekend in NOLA is going to be awesome. And now .

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