On Friday, Nov. 7, Mike Viola performed a show at The Hybrid to an intimate audience. With just an acoustic guitar and his own voice, Viola managed to represent his vast career with a dynamic fervor rarely seen in such a stripped-down setting.
While certainly not a household name, Viola has managed to touch nearly every corner of the music industry since getting his start as a teen wonder in the 80s. He’s been consistently releasing his own music since his 1999 album “Falling Into Place,” but he’s popularly known as a fixture of movie soundtracks and producer/collaborator of bands like Panic! At The Disco, Vulfpeck and Dawes.
“I’ve played arenas with Panic and I’ve played theaters with Andrew Bird and Dawes,” Viola said. “The sweet spot is the 200-300 cap rock ‘n’ roll shitholes. By the end of the gig, you have locked eyes with everybody in that venue and you’re making a real connection, whereas playing in arenas you feel like Cirque du Soleil.”…