Hundevad Productions

May 17th, 2022

Fillmore – Minneapolis 

My first encounter with Jacob was on reddit, as with most of my internet knowledge, and I was highly intrigued. It was a recording of him conducting the crowd to do different pitches of ooo’s and ahh’s, creating harmonies throughout the whole concert, using the audience as his instrument. I thought, “I want to experience that, “ and every comment on the thread supported my thought. I looked him up and saw tickets for an upcoming concert. This was in February, and I got the tickets for the concert in May, the 17th, a Tuesday. An interesting choice of the week for a concert, but maybe that is normal, I’m not sure. It also was a rescheduled event from a couple years ago due to, you know the thing. 

Jacob was excellent, 11/10. Dude was crazy talented. Jacob can play any instrument and the way he controlled the audience with his persona, and evoked us through his music was fantastic to experience and he did it humbly too. The band, all international members from London, Chicago, Spain, Italy, etc., all coming together, finding each other to match perfectly in their art forms and souls to truly express, emote, and flow, it was spectacular to see them in their element. 

The improvisational bits were fun, quirky, rhythmic, and entertaining; and the entrees of album hits satiated the cravings of music genres from R+B, to sad boy, to funky jazz, to acoustic. Jacob played piano, keyboards, cello (bass), drums, guitar, bass guitar, and seemingly all at once. He set up a cubicle of instruments so he could transition with a lean or a jump, and switched instruments with a step without missing a beat. Seriously, from piano, to drums, to cello without missing a beat. I was blown away. A great entertainer, an out of this world player, the joy and gravitas he had to engage with the audience was phenomenal and refreshing to see in performers. 

And finally, I got what I came for, (and of course, more) to sing a cappella as Collier conducted was an experience only had that once, and one only to be really had at a concert. To be in a room of fellow humans all there for one purpose, and willing to be in on it, made for an otherworldly experience. We were broken into four parts and the harmonies, the experience, the existence of energy in that space, not only lifted hairs, but my spirits as well. 

There was a moment during a banger jam session of a song, he is playing the drums, then jumps to the piano, then in a sweeping motion jumps up from the bench with a soft felt drumstick, (whatever they’re called) and threw it at the gong in the center stage. He hit that thing perfectly center and perfectly on the beat ending the song to a blackout. The crowd went wild.

I didn’t look up Jacob after I discovered him on Reddit, and I kinda like going to concerts without knowing the artist’s music because then I can truly experience it without a predisposed bias. It’s a humbling experience and Jacob blew me away. It was a lot of genres and mixtures of art forms. It wasn’t a rock show like Queen or Maroon 5, it wasn’t a funky flow show that could’ve been a live music video like Timberlake. It was a band performing live, their music and love, and giving the audience the love and attention we needed but never knew we deserved. I was surprised by the demographics of the audience too, from older humans with gray hair, to a father taking his what seemed to be 10 year old daughter on his shoulders, to a group of bro dudes wearing golf athletic attire, to the stoner circle vaping in the middle. Jacob, the band, and their music really attract a large, wide audience because his music transcends and expands on multiple genres, and it’s just that good, it can relate to mostly everybody and anybody can catch a feeling to it. 

Definitely a concert, an experience to remember, even if I don’t play his music on the daily. Would recommend, and I hope the best for them.