Last night, the State Theatre, featured a musical performance by Matt Nathanson, but with all the laughter in the crowd, one might think it was a stand-up comedy performance.

And that's meant as a complete compliment.

The acoustic singer/songwriter was all laughs in between songs, often bringing the sold-out State Theatre, 130 W. College Ave., to literally roar with laughter. His between-song-banter wasn't just mindless chatter but anecdotes with relevance.

He commented on an array of subjects like the "adorable" State College airport, the art form of power ballads, the flaws of Dr. Phil, the perfect music to play during copulation, and his subtle distaste for men of the redheaded persuasion. Being of that persuasion, this reviewer took slight offense, but not enough to ruin the great mood Nathanson had put the audience in.

Opening for Nathanson was local country/blues band the Rustlanders. The five-piece worked well within the confines of their genre, but they seemed to enjoy playing within these confines too much. It would have been nice to hear songs with more perceptive song structures. Nearly every song followed a verse-chorus-verse-chorus-guitar solo-chorus format with scattered moments of interest throughout.

Most of these moments were supplied by the lead guitar player, who got enthusiastic applause following an intense guitar solo.

At one point, the bass player said they were a "nice appetizer to get your taste buds quenched." If bands could be compared to foods you may eat before a big meal, I would have to compare the Rustlanders to a box of Ritz crackers: they're tasty, but in the end it's just salted crackers.

Nathanson came on around 9:15 p.m. to jubilant cheers. As he grabbed his acoustic guitar, Nathanson complimented the State Theatre for its elegance.

"Such a classy place," he said. "I use to play the Crowbar...here it doesn't smell like piss or beer."

At first, he seemed to be put off by crowd since they were in fact sitting down. All it took was a reference to a popular college film to get the crowd slightly more rowdy.

"State College has always been a bit like Animal House," he said.

While he was extremely funny, his musical performance met expectations. At one point he played a stripped down performance of "Suspended," which sounded oddly angelic with the girls in the audience singing backup. It's not too often an audience can also do backup vocals, but this was one of those times.

At the end of the night, Nathanson's performance was an example of great crowd interaction and professional musicianship. Most of all he was respectful to his fans and for $13, what more could one ask for?