Hutchinson and his show that couldn’t have gone better

The HUB’s Fire Place Lounge was once again graced with a musical talent of comedy and captivation. Eric Hutchinson, a 25-year-old Maryland native, compiled the stage with dry humor and a comfortable atmosphere as he serenaded his audience for the first time on Monday, October 17. With a sexy and messy, yet fine-tuned and passionate voice, his essence was similar to singer/songwriters like Billy Joel and Rufus Wainwright. Hutchinson turned the generic sound of today into a carefree, rugged, and attractive live performance. Covering songs by Whitney Houston and Justin Timberlake, spoofs to create an invasion of giggles among his audience, this talented singer, guitarist, and pianist engaged everyone with his music containing enough diversity to gain a personal adoration from each listener.In songs like Cynical Now, a song Hutchinson wrote when he was “pissed off for no reason really,” he showed his bitter side that still made the audience like him more for showing that he was only human. With his comfortable, comedic, and adventurous persona, it is easy to be shocked at finding out he’s only been a full-time employee to the stage for three years. Though writing for a while longer, sharing his personal stories through his music making was weird at first, but time has made him a pro. Playing for small audiences like colleges, has caused him to take time to talk, get personal, and, of course, work in his cynical humor. From what we can see, he has broken out of his shell quite nicely. Being the opening man for acts like Jason Mraz and Rachel Yamagata, he has played all around the United States. His two favorite cities, Chicago and Los Angeles, we were lucky to have the pleasure of being entertained by this music maker, and certainly are more than welcoming to have him come back again. Check out Eric’s album that could have gone better, online at Myspace.com, as well www.eric-hutchinson.com. Take a listen, if you missed him Monday. It’ll most definitely be worth it. He’s more than just “pretty good” as his t-shirts humorously explained.