Rabbitology joins Madilyn Mei for eclectic, imaginative night at Anaheim House of Blues
Photo courtesy of Universal Music Group; Photo by Emily Minerowicz
“I wrote this one sitting in math class when I was still convinced I wanted to do business,” said Rabbitology during her opening set for Madilyn Mei at The Parish at House of Blues in Anaheim. The show on Sept. 20 was one of the first stops along the route of the “One Man Circus” headline tour.
Nat Timmerman, who produces and performs under the pseudonym Rabbitology, is supporting the largely sold-out tour — which ends in Dallas in November — through October. Her style, which she started discovering in her college dorm, compliments Mei’s equally playful sound perfectly, making both sets feel like a portal into another reality “Alice in Wonderland” style, drawing the audience entirely into their dreamlike worlds.
Timmerman first entered the stage and began drumming her fingers against an apple in the place of a percussion instrument, alluding to her days producing songs out of her dorm room at the University of Michigan. Now signed with Nettwerk Music Group, she said in an interview with The Panther, “It's been a challenge in some ways, figuring out how to not record in a dorm room … But it's definitely been a learning experience figuring out each (recording) space and how sound travels.”
The environment had an air of psychedelia and anticipation between the on-stage imagery and audience costumes and the chanting, dancing fans. Light, plucky sound and melodic vocals from both artists helped translate the fantastical imagery on stage into something tangible for the crowd.
The space and crowd were equally as eclectic as the worlds of the two musicians; the audience encompassed everyone from muscle-tank, flip-flop clad dads accompanying adolescent daughters in elaborate clown costumes and animal masks, to 20-something couples in cowboy hats, all united under a pair of giant hands suspended above the stage.
The brilliant minds of the two artists were on full display at the House of Blues, where they welcomed the audience into worlds constructed of folksy, quirky soundscapes and surreal imagery.
On collaboration, Rabbitology told The Panther, “I feel like I'm meeting my kind, I guess. It's really fun to kind of see how other people's minds work. I think music isn't music without collaboration.”
With each artist on stage with only one other musician, the collaboration and artistry across both sets was enchanting. From the live-mixing of prerecorded and live vocals in real time by Rabbitology into the introduction of Mei’s set by a magician donning a top hat, the show was a crossroads of real, raw talent and fantasy.
Madilyn Mei leans especially into the fantastical imagery by wearing clown makeup and at times holding up their arms like a puppet. They transformed the hands suspended above the stage into the image of a puppeteer, alluding to themes of control and vulnerability.
Mei had a very strong stage presence — even in songs where they only used an acoustic guitar — reflected in the crowd singing every word back to them. The set covered themes of childhood and maturation, burnout, relationships and love. Songs were punctuated by giggles and audience sing-alongs as Mei waved to fans at the front of the stage throughout the set.
“I feel like my music is the people that listen to it, and not necessarily just what I make,” said Rabbitology.
It couldn’t have rang more true with this crowd. Throughout both sets, and even the transition between, the audience sang, danced and shouted affectionately at the performers. Crowd members went truly all out, and not just with their costumes and energy. A clown plushie toward the front of the stage was lifted up intermittently and had the crowd roaring, and audience members held drawings, friendship bracelets and little gifts toward the stage.
Mei talked about various personal topics, especially the tortoise and the hare imagery they’ve been resonating with recently, leaving the crowd with an optimistic message about letting it all go. “Take a deep breath, scream these lyrics with me and remember that it’s not that serious” was the general idea, and the audience did just that, dancing, screaming and singing the stress away. That energy wasn’t lost in the opening set, either.
Of the tour and its continuation, Rabbitology said, “I'm just looking forward to the moments in between. I love the energy on stage, for sure, but it's definitely those little moments, like talking to everyone backstage. Everyone is just so passionate. And even with my guitarist, Marcus, we wrote a song yesterday just kind of waiting for things to get cooking.”
Photo courtesy of Universal Music Group
That creative momentum is the buoyancy beneath the tour itself and carried both the artists and their crowd through the night with boundless energy.
The “One Man Circus” tour started on the heels of Mei’s latest album release, “A Thousand Songs About It All: Act I,” which was released Sept. 12. The 12-track album stays true to Mei’s brand, continuing all of the charming, magical sonic landscapes their fans love them for and shining on stage despite its recency. Fans didn’t miss a beat or lyric, singing along enthusiastically even to the songs that had been released only eight days prior to the show.
"Three shows down and everyone has been so nice on tour! It's been so fun seeing everyone in their tour costumes and I can't wait to bring this show across the rest of the country," said Mei on the early stages of “One Man Circus.”
With vocals as powerful as they are graceful, strongly personal yet equally magical imagery and a fearlessness in their stylistic approach, both Madilyn Mei and Rabbitology will undoubtedly continue to thrive across stages throughout the U.S. and into their future in music.