Beautiful Midnight is one of my favourite albums; I've said it before, I'm sure I'll say it again. It's one of the first albums I can remember getting into as a album, not just a collection of songs, and I've always thought the "flow" of it is damn near perfect.
Which is all a way of saying when Matthew Good released the I Miss New Wave EP, revisiting songs from the album, and then announced that his 2017 tour would be dedicated to Beautiful Midnight, that they would be playing the album sequentially and in its entirety... well, I was a little bit excited.

Thursday was the first of three shows at the legendary Commodore Ballroom, and I got there a couple songs into the opener, Toronto's Craig Stickland. Alone on stage armed just with his guitar and a looping pedal, the singer-songwriter built loops with a smooth voice and nice guitar chops, providing his own percussion by thumping on his guitar, bringing it all together for a laid back vibe. His set was good, but I feel like he's one of those artists I would enjoy a lot more with a better knowledge of his music (and lyrics) and in a more intimate setting; not that he didn't do a good job endearing himself to the crowd, getting the filling ballroom to sing along a few times, especially to his cover of The Hip's "Bobcaygeon".

It wasn't long after Stickland finished that some dramatic, operatic music swelled and the lights went out while the opening cheerleader chant of "K-I-C-K-A-S-S" filled the room, the letters also flashing on LED lights, as Matthew Good and his band took the stage for one of the best album-openers, "Giant".

Immediately, people were singing along (some loud, off-key, and directly into my ear, but you can't fault their enthusiasm) which continued throughout the entire night, most notably on hits like "Load Me Up", "Strange Days" and, of course, "Hello Time Bomb". Some from the album were slightly updated, like the recent EP's eponymous "I Miss New Wave", but they were all the songs the crowd knew and loved, as Good poured intense emotion into ones like "Suburbia" which saw him silhouetted as he stood at the front of the stage, and the heartwrenching "Jenni's Song".

While there was not much of Good's usual banter -- just a few wry remarks here & there -- Matt did engage the crowd, including hopping off stage as "Let's Get It On" started, only to reappear standing on a table just off the main dancefloor, singing among the sea of people (and, as we found out after, trying not to kill himself by slipping on a spilled daiquiri).

After the raucous (and prescient) "The Future Is X-Rated" the set drew to an end with quite possibly my all time favourite pairing of songs to close an album. "Born To Kill" began with Good's voice soaring over the sold out crowd before the song erupted explosively into an ending that would be the perfect soundtrack to someone going mad, followed immediately by the much calmer and beautifully melancholic "Running For Home" -- acting as sort of a climax and denouement of the album. The latter was probably the most changed song of the night, not only switching from piano driven to guitar, but also punched up by the full band performance, as Good left the stage to leave the spotlight on them as they wrapped up the main set.

Before the tour Good assured fans that there would be an encore of other songs from his catalogue, and he delivered, returning to the stage with a single, massive light illuminating him as he launched into the biggest singalong of the night, maybe even one of the biggest singalongs I've ever heard, "Apparitions". I don't think there was a single person there not right there with him. From there he wrapped up the night with a few from his solo albums, culminating with the intense and emotionally-draining "Weapon". Even though the show was at least an hour and a half, I probably could've listened to another full set of the rest of his songs.

A lot of times you might revisit something you loved 15-20 years ago to find it hasn't aged well, or you've outgrown it, or whatever. But there's something about this album, these songs, that still resonates. A few of these songs were even the first time I had ever seen them live, and I'm very glad I got the chance to.

setlist
Giant
Hello Time Bomb
Strange Days
I Miss New Wave
Load Me Up
Failing the Rorschach Test
Suburbia
Let’s Get It On
Jenni's Song
Going All The Way
A Boy and His Machine Gun
The Future Is X-Rated
Born to Kill
Running for Home
(encore)
Apparitions
A Single Explosion
Born Losers
Weapon