Secondhand Serenade Makes Friends and Gets Interactive

There have been some crooners who have stepped onto the Maxwell's stage in the past. But John Vesely, also known as Secondhand Serenade, seems to it down to an art form.

Once the Menlo Park, Calif., singer-songwriter started his set on Wednesday, it seemed the females in the room were already swooning. But then when he started professing his love for the Garden State, you can feel the ladies' temperatures rising. "I love Jersey," he said before playing "So Long." "There are some very attractive women in New Jersey."

He continued, "You work your asses off. You're hard workers in Jersey, and I love that."

But he didn't stop there. The flirting continued throughout his hour-long set. He not only brought fans up to the stage to give them hugs but also took a shot with one of them. (Don't worry she was of legal age.) But even though you'd like to roll your eyes at his suave ways, Vesely had the musical arsenal to back up his womanly ways. With lyrics like "I was born to tell you I love you," how can you not melt? Although it could also make you feel sorry for yourself, if there's no one in your life to say that to you. But either way, his raw and emotional voice belts every lyric as if he's experience every scenario that he's singing about at that very moment.

While it wasn't too much of a surprise when everyone started singing along to "Fall For You" and "Vulnerable," it was cool to see fans of all ages and genders (Yes there are some big male Secondhand Serenade fans out there, too) sing along to the songs that not too many people know about. They love him. They really love him. Even though the show itself was an interesting experience, it was not an experience I would want to relive again. Between the borderline whining sound in his vocals and songs that all kind of sound the same, Secondhand Serenade does fall a bit flat for me. However, I give him a gold star for producing a bearable performance.

Vesely wasn't the only singer-songwriter to perform at Maxwell's that evening. New York artist Matt Beilis as well as singer and actor Val Emmich added their own flavors to the night's show.

Aside from Secondhand Serenade, Beilis seemed to be the opener who really brought a huge following to Hoboken. With family and friends all around him, this singer-songwriter was the biggest surprise for me that night. Considering his smaller stature, he has a pretty big voice. But not that smoothly toned type of voice but something more like the vocal love child of Chris Daughtry and Nickelback's Chad Kroger. It's a bit abrasive to the ears at first but the jolt of roughness is a surprisingly pleasant surprise. While his original songs were pretty good, it wasn't until I heard his cover of Rihanna's "S & M." While it was a bit racy for the all ages show, it seemed like his voice just worked so well with song. Now whether that's a good or bad thing, you can be the judge of that.

Emmich was actually the artist I was most looking forward to see that night. With a similar vocal tone to Alex Band of The Calling, his honest lyrics and fine word play is the perfect combination for my kind of singer-songwriter music. While I did enjoy his set, it was unfortunate that the crowd transformed from an attentive group to ones who acted like they really didn't care. But either way, Emmich, who has appeared on "Ugly Betty" and "30 Rock," did his best with the environment. And if it's any consolation, I'm still a big fan.