Mat McHugh (of The Beautiful Girls) at The Wonder Bar, Asbury Park, NJ 9-2-11 Forgive my musical ignorance, but until last Friday night, I had no idea who Mat McHugh was, nor did I know anything about the Beautiful Girls. Now, having witnessed a solo acoustic set by the afore-mentioned Mr. McHugh, I can tell you this: the guys is sort of like a young, journeyman Paul Simon, with an ear to the past and a hand in the future. That, my friends, is a very good thing. Mat's set rode a musical ebb and flow, from quiet, longing acoustic numbers (that really showcased that Paul Simon quality to his voice), to more up-tempo fair that made ample use of live sampling (in a rare case of technological enhancement, not overkill just for the sake of using gadgets). The variations in the set list, along with the clever use of adding cover tune codas to his own material (Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright", U2's "One", Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)") convinced me that this is how singer-songwriter shows should be: entertaining, moving, charming, classy and classic. Good on ya, mate. -Jay Mazeffect www.matmchughmusic.com Photos by Lazlo (click on photo see full size)