“My shoe came untied, that’s a first time at a concert ever,” Kearney announced to Turner Hall. “I guess that means were rocking out!”

On Sept. 30, mellow pop-rock singer Mat Kearney stopped to perform in Milwaukee, a stop on his Young Love tour. Kearney strolled on stage to kick off his promising set with his up-tempo pop number, “Count on Me.”

Despite his catchy opening song, Kearney’s set began to hit a slump. There lacked audience interaction. Kearney appeared awkward at times, only making eye contact with one side of the room and executing stiff, orchestrated dance moves. For a good hour, the only interaction Kearney had with the audience was offering the obligatory, “how you all doing?” and the “thanks for having me, ” and of course, “you all are a good looking group!”

It appeared as if Kearney then chugged an energy drink when I wasn’t looking because the end of the show picked up pace. As the show went on, Kearney loosened up, offering the crowd a few more smiles and banter in between songs.

The improvised Wisconsin song he threw in to one of the middle of one of his own songs was impressive but I wished I could have seen him open up to the audience earlier on.

The laid back singer ended his show with a surprisingly high-energy encore, which included a cover of “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People and some of his own crowd pleasers, “Ships in the Night” and “Hey Mama.”

As a fan of his latest CD, the $15 spent on a Mat Kearney ticket was well worth it. Kearney is a soulful songwriter and a skilled piano and guitar player, sometimes even alternating between the two instruments during songs. Kearney creatively infused hip-hop into his predominantly pop-rock songs.

Would I see Mat Kearney again in concert?

Maybe if someone bought him a pack of Red Bull before the show.