SHOW REVIEW: Mk.Gee @ Moroccan Lounge

Photo credit: Sienna Estrada

Michael Gordon, who performs under the name Mk.gee, makes music that sounds so nostalgic, but also so incomparable. The combination of funk and jazz in his sound truly makes it one of a kind. The Thornton School of Music student is getting more popular by the minute. 

I first heard Mk.gee play when he opened for the band Sure Sure back in May of this year. Immediately falling in love with his completely unique sound and listening to his music for months, I had the chance to see Mk.gee perform his first headline show at the Moroccan Lounge. Coming onto stage wearing a pink, bedazzled cowboy hat, it was clear that he was excited to be there and was about to put on an amazing show. His excited energy was tangible and it got the crowd riled up instantly. 

Mk.gee started his show with the song “You” from his double EP, Pronounced Mcgee, which came out just this last May. With the mellow beat and vocals, the crowd became submerged in his cool air of relaxation -- the perfect way to start the show. Mk.gee kept that same vibe going when he played the song, “Come On (You Know That I’m a Fool)”, off his new EP, Fool. The rhythm of this song from beginning to end made the audience dance, sway, and drift off into their own world. During “Unaware”, the crowd sang along, calling out with Mk.gee the subject of this song on their lack of sympathy and attention towards others. The melancholy of “New Year” was felt in his soft, drawn out vocals and gentle guitar strums. Mk.gee took a moment before performing to explain that it was the time he went back to his hometown after a year of being away that inspired the song. He continued by saying, “in a good way, like, I came back and I realized ‘Holy shit, everyone’s like exactly the same as I left them.’”. Afterwards, he sang “Priorities”.  It was during this song when I felt immersed in the sound the most. Even though he was playing right in front of me, the beats echoed so smoothly throughout the room that it made me and my friend feel surrounded. The funky, disco beat contrasts nicely against the solemn lyrics as the chorus goes, 

“And it feels like I'm tumbling down

All the things I love has hit the ground

And the shapes I thought I'd never see

Seem to be running around me”.

After finishing the song, Mk.gee claimed that that was his last song and exited. The second he left the stage, the crowd began chanting his name for an encore. The power of the crowd worked as Mk.gee came back to play “Roll With the Punches”, ending with the same relaxing, yet powerful sound that he started with. 

His sound creates this hazy, lush atmosphere in my head every time I listen.  With the vibrant pink and warm orange lights that shined on the stage while he played, that atmosphere was able to come to life. Mk.gee put on an amazing show, and I can’t wait to see what he has in store for the future.

— Sienna Estrada, Programmer