Bedroom singer turned touring artist MICO’s emotionally-laden, easy listening alt-pop is maturing to fit the big stage. The bass-ier balance in live shows really works for his music, adding extra punchiness that makes the emotional peaks that much more satisfying. His most captivating songs are those that are so patient with its buildups that the anthemic chorus feels like you’re getting launched into the stratosphere, so it’s unsurprising that “cut my hair” and “HOMESICK” are crowd favorites.
The Running From A Feeling tour takes its name from a lyric in “Like you mean it,” and reflects a recurring theme in MICO’s latest album, When The Lights Turn On: the lengths people go to avoid facing reality, and what they stand to gain by confronting it instead. In “Open Up Your Eyes,” the lyrics, “But just open up your, just open up your eyes…/ You won’t, no, you won’t survive”suggest that facing the truth can come at a cost: letting go of the person one has become. The euphoric, hyperpop “DREAMBOY” is about someone only wanting the perfect, polished version of MICO, not the one behind the curtain. In an era of online profiles, seeing someone as they are, not how they present themselves to be, is now a radical act. MICO also admits that, for him, “music was kind of an escape, an unjudgeable place to feel what [he] felt,” and even though he still plays music to “feel more alive,” he has a different relationship with it now after embracing his stardom.
One way to escape from reality is to pretend that everything is the same as it has been. This is explored in the world MICO created for his latest concept-album. Called StillVille, it’s, according to a cheery voice on the radio, the “realization of the suburban dream,” and it appears to be normal and nostalgic. The stage is decorated as the Main Street of StillVille, complete with a bus stop, lamp post, and a corded phone (remember those?). But there is something not quite right here, when the radio glitches and gives way to a quiet yet desperate voice calling for help. There are several of these ominous interruptions that end abruptly, and the transitions to MICO coming back onstage for an upbeat song are jarring. While this is supposed to indicate that not everything is as it seems, it invites various questions that don’t end up being answered. Is it too unrealistic to expect concerts to follow Chekov’s gun?
The closest thing to a resolution comes towards the end of the show, when the upbeat radio voice instructs everyone to “keep StillVille how it always has been, perfect.” MICO rebukes, “What about this is perfect? Everything changes.” The plaintive and subtly angsty “Everything’s the same” captures this sentiment: “‘Cause everything’s the same ’til you hate it / It’s always the same, but it’s changing / I wanna go home, but I’m home now.” We’re always changing, and so are the places and people we hold (or held) dear, along with the relationships we share with them. MICO’s underlying dissatisfaction with what StillVille represents is reminiscent of a quote by Mandy Hale: “Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.”
The set takes a turn to “FeelsVille,” “Your favorite flowers,” “Learning to love,” and “Tears in your eyes,” songs of yearning, love, and loss. MICO channels the just-finished-a-good-cry energy into his voice, and the expansive choruses capture the pain of losing love and the beauty of channeling it in a different direction. Of course, the Main Street of FeelsVille is nothing other than “HOMESICK,” a masterclass in buildup, the most tender of verses segueing into a brilliant, electrifying chorus. And the triplets that come in at the last chorus to disrupt the staunch, four-beat forward momentum — chef’s kiss.
Three years ago, MICO had 60 people show up to his show. Tonight, there are over 700 concertgoers packed into Wonder Ballroom, charmed by the authenticity and the thought-provoking themes behind his catchy music. The next time he comes back to town, maybe he’ll have tenfold more fans, but one thing’s for sure, he won’t be living in StillVille. An artist’s capacity to reinvent themselves is more important than their popularity, and MICO gets that.
