Matthew Good @ Rio Theatre -- 11/27/14

When the ticket website StubHub announced that their "Next Stage" concert series would include an acoustic Matthew Good at the Rio Theatre, I knew there was no way I could miss it. Good has long been a favourite of mine, and his solo acoustic shows are among the best shows I have seen, especially when in a relatively intimate venue.

Toronto's Dani Jean (also of Mickey Loves Mallory) started things off for the night, behind the keys with a stripped down, soulful pop sound. Her breathy vocals drove haunting songs, many of which seemed to be about various stages of love.
Mid-way through her short set she swapped to an acoustic guitar for a song called "Broken Angels"
and a cover of "Habits" by Tove Lo (which I had never actually heard before, but from the lyrics could tell it was more of a pop song than her gentle interpretation) before going back to hey keyboard for one last one, a song called "Hurts Like Hell".
She put on an enjoyable set, and I would be interested to hear what she's like with a full band, or as part of the Mickey Loves Mallory project.


Matthew Good took the stage armed with his guitar, launching right into "Strange Days" from one of my favourite albums of all time, Beautiful Midnight for a two-hour set that spanned nearly his entire career. He reached as far back as the hidden track on his debut Last of the Ghetto Astronauts -- and what may have been the first popular use of the phrase "first world problems" -- "Omissions of the Omen" where he broke a string on his guitar; had the entire crowd singing along in a hushed choir for "Symbolistic White Walls"; played a few older favourites like "So Long Ms Smith" and a re-worked "Truffle Pigs" all from the Matt Good Band days.

The set also included a few personal favourites, like "Prime Time Deliverance" a powerful song that never fails to give me chills; the intense "A Boy And His Machine Gun", which I don't think I had ever heard live before; and the usually-symphonic "While We Were Hunting Rabbits" simplified to a cool acoustic version while Good's voice soared and filled the theatre.

There were a few songs that were completely re-worked to fit the acoustic format. The frantic and thumping "Load Me Up" was turned into a slower, almost alt-country flavoured song. "Alert Status Red" into a classic protest song. He even mentioned that more songs would probably be given acoustic versions, as he will be embarking on an acoustic tour next April, following his new album in March.

As is the case with most of his acoustic shows, the atmosphere was very relaxed and candid. There were a few small flubs during songs, but when he admitted to screwing something up, or not remembering lyrics to songs he hadn't played in 15 years, it didn't come across as "bad". His proclivity to banter with the crowd between songs made it feel less like a show, and more like some friends sitting around someone's living room. He even occasionally chatted to people one-on-one as he recognised longtime fans in the crowd, or people from his past.

During the set he talked about everything from behind-the-scenes jokes, and why he changed some songs and couldn't play others -- at one point he just let people yell song titled and explaining why he couldn't play each (sometimes sincerely, sometimes glibly). He went from the absurd (don't get into music, get into washroom fixtures) to political (who exactly declares that there is a "war" on Christmas?) and everything in between (Lamb's Rum) as the show was about three quarters music and one quarter storytelling.

After a sold hour and a half, he brought the main set to an end with "Apparitions" -- which, when someone yelled it out earlier he joked of course he was going to play it, they day that he didn't would be the day he was beaten to death by fans -- before he was obviously back out for a few more including a song that his record label deemed "too country", "Hopeless", and the absolutely gorgeous and heartwrenching "Sort of a Protest Song", before finally ending the night on a positive note, his fantastic cover of Daniel Johnston's "True Love Will Find You In The End".


I've said countless times before on this very blog that Matthew Good ranks among my all time favourite musicians, and it's shows like this that cements that position. How he can effortlessly shift from light-hearted banter to heavy, dark songs. His powerful voice that, even if it can't still hit the highs, can blast you right in the chest and rip open your heart. He played for two hours, and I probably still could have stayed for more. 


setlist
Strange Days, Tripoli, Born Losers, A Boy And His Machine Gun,  99% Of Us is Failure, Truffle Pigs, Symbolistic White Walls, Prime Time Deliverance, So Long Ms. Smith, Metal Airplanes, While We Were Hunting Rabbits, Omissions of the Omen, Load Me Up, Apparitions. 
(encore) Alert Status Red, Silent Army in the Trees, Empty Road, Hopeless, Sort of a Protest Song, True Love Will Find You In The End.

Matthew Good @ Orpheum -- 11/28/13

I've said it before (more than once) but one of my favourite artists, for many years now, is Matthew Good. And I have been able to see him live at least once a year for the last six years or so; from huge, outdoor events to intimate acoustic shows.
Promoting his newest release, Arrows of Desire -- which is raw, rocking album recorded live-off-the-floor -- Matthew Good finished off the tour with a hometown show, at the beautiful Orpheum Theatre.


Opening the show was Gentleman Husbands. it was the first time in Vancouver for the Ontario four piece, and their rootsy-rock type stuff that wasn't quite good enough to like, but neither bad enough to be snarky about.
They had some catchy songs, but a lot of them ended up bleeding together and sounding alike, even the partial cover of The Wallflowers' "Difference" that the slipped into a song. For an opening band, it was Perfectly Acceptable Music and they had an obvious passion for what they were doing.



Soon after, at 9:30 sharp, Matthew Good took the stage. His band coming out first and launching into the opening notes of "Garden of Knives" from the new album before Good came on and stepped up to the mic. The nearly two-hour set focused on the new album, but reached back through his long career, hitting songs from his solo and Matthew Good Band days.

Older hits like "Everything is Automatic" and "Load Me Up" got the entire theatre on their feet and singing & clapping along, as Good poured all his energy into the set. His voice going from rough & gritty, to soft, to soaring -- sometimes within the same song -- and was always full of passion and emotion.

Good eschewed his usual dry and humourous banter, due to the show being curfewed and wanting to play as much music as possible, but did joke around a few times between songs, including spontaneously launching in to a cover of "Walk Hard" from the John C. Reilly movie of the same name.

Other highlights included the beautiful "While We Were Hunting Rabbits" from Avalanche, which was transformed from a symphonic, strings-filled number to an almost alt-country number that soared; the vicious & frantic "Via Dolorosa" finished with a huge swirling of guitars & pounding of drums; and "Shallow's Low", which starting dark and moody before exploding into a chaotic climax.

It's also worth noting the lighting, which is rarely gets its own spotlight; little touches really added to the experience, like when various members had solos, they were illuminated as the rest of the stage dark; and in one of the neatest stage lighting things I've seen in a while, the lights rapidly illuminated each individual drum as it was struck during one of the drummer's solos.

The main set wrapped up with the haunting "Letters in Wartime" the final track on the new album, before the obligatory encore. The band returning to stage with the familiar cheer piping through the theatre, and launching into "Giant", followed by another pair of huge singalongs, "Hello, Time Bomb" and "Apparitions".
They finally ended the night, and the tour, with the epic "Champions of Nothing", as Good thanked his band, his crew, and especially everyone for showing up.

setlsit
Garden of Knives, Last Parade, Load Me Up, Arrows of Desire, Non Populus, Born Losers, So Close, Everything is Automatic, Shallow's Low, While We Were Hunting Rabbits, Walk Hard [Dewey Cox cover], Had It Coming, We're Long Gone, Weapon, Alert Status Red, Via Dolorosa, Letters in Wartime.
(encore) Giant, Hello Time Bomb, Apparitions, Champions of Nothing. 

North by North East: Friday

North by North East continues in Toronto, and the plan for Friday night was to head to Yonge & Dundas Square, the crux of NXNE, for some free outdoor shows.

First up was Eight and a Half; two parts The Stills, one part Broken Social Scene, with Dave Hamlin, Liam O'Niel and Justin Peroff. I missed the first part of the set, but still managed to catch the last few songs. The trio had a good dynamic on stage, and you could definitely tell they were all completely at home playing live. I wasn't sure how their moody, electronic synth driven pop sound would translate live, but they did an excellent job with songs like "Go Ego" and "Scissors", making it seem like there were much more than just the three of them on stage, and they finished the set with "Oh, My Head", starting soft and build in intensity. What I caught was good, but since I missed some of it, it ended up being just a tease. I hope they're able to make it to Vancouver sometime soon so I can see them again. 

Next up was Montreal's Plants and Animals. Their dense and layered rock always seems like it should come from twice as many members as are on stage, but the four of them built hug sonic soundscapes from the free outdoor stage. Starting off with "Undone Melody", they played a set that seemed too short, with songs off all three of their albums. The erratic "Crisis!", one of my favourites from the new album, was great live, and they broke out the autoharp for the rousing "Bye Bye Bye". They capped it off with "Faerie Dance" that started calm and mellow and then exploded into a swirling mass of guitars, and the band going right up to the barrier with microphones for the crowd to join in on the chorus. The set was maybe a little too "bass-y", with both the bass guitar and drum drowning other things out at times, but not enough to spoil an otherwise great set. 

Going in to NXNE I had a self-imposed rule not to see any Vancouver bands -- especially if they conflicted with something -- since it would be more likely to see them at home. The obvious exception to that rule was Matthew Good. Taking the stage with the familiar chanting of  "K-I-C-K-A-S-S, that's the way we spell success" Good and his backing band launched into "Giant" and played a nearly hour and a half set that hit a lot of the major songs and singles from his career.
There's always a strange dichotomy to Matthew Good shows, since his songs can be so serious and full of raw emotion -- when he spits out lines like "it feels like time to fuck or leave" through grit teeth in "Last Parade" -- but then he's always so jovial between songs, joking about things like the giant billboards across the square from the stage; one with a swimsuit ad that came up every two minutes.
Other highlights from the set included "Shallow's Low", the boisterous "Zero Orchestra", and a string from Beautiful Midnight with nearly the entire square singing along to "Hello Time Bomb" and "Load Me Up".
The eight minute roller coaster "Non Populus" weaved expertly from soft and beautiful to chaotic and cacophonous and he ended with another pair of huge sing alongs with "Apparitions" and, for the encore, "Everything is Automatic".
I have seen Matthew Good many times now, in many different settings, and while this show was a bit more focused on the hits, to cater to the "free, outdoor" aspect the show, that didn't compromise the quality; it was still an amazing set.

That was all for the free shows at Yonge & Dundas Square, but the night was not over. There was one more stop to go: Rah Rah at the Dakota Tavern. I had never seen Rah Rah before, so I was very excited to finally see them, and they did not disappoint. They packed the small stage, and even had their cat mascot with them, for a set bubbling over with a great energy and ridiculous amounts of fun.
"Tentacles" had any people singing along, and they played a good number of new songs, from their new 7", and there was even some personnel changed on the fly, as drummer Erin Passmore swapped out to come to the front to sing and play guitar and keys.
My only complaint that the set seemed far too short. They ended almost abruptly with the lead singer procaiming "This is the part of the set where I put away my guitar" and that was it. Luckily, I found out via a tweet after the show they'll be in Vancouver soon (with Imaginary Cities, no less!) so I won't have to wait long to see them again.

Saturday will be another jam packed day for NXNE, with a CBC Radio 3 listener picnic, and then three of the acts I am most excited to see in the evening, of Montreal, The Flaming Lips and Matt Mays.

Matthew Good @ Media Club -- 02/09/12

As regular readers (all nineteen of you) may know, Matthew Good is one of my all time favourite artist. So when, a little more than 24 hours in advance, the Fox announced a surprise acoustic show at the Media Club, I knew I had to be there. There was no way I was going to miss Matt Good in a venue with a less-than-200 capacity, especially for an acoustic show. Even if it meant waiting an hour and a half in life in the rain, then another hour and a half inside for the show to start.

The show was a kind of kick-off for his upcoming tour, and was very intimate, loose, and on the fly, with Good joked about how often he'd screw up. And which there were a few flubs -- mostly because he hadn't played some of the songs acoustically in a few years, if not over a decade -- and while they would have been bothersome at a large venue show, this felt less like a "show" and more like Good invited us into his living room to play and chat.
And there was lots of chatting, as is usual for his acoustic shows. It was almost equal parts music and stand-up comedy as he went off on tangents on the necessity of drugs ("just watch Treehouse for a few hours"), what exactly emo is, the pronunciation of Bon Iver, how young you are based on the size of the music you bought ("...and if the music you bought was invisible, then you are young."), and even a self-aware moment where he wondered about the mood whiplash between the serious and/or depressing songs and the humourous rants between them.

And as for the songs; he played a great mix of old and new -- though not too much new album -- and aside from "Born Losers", which featured Chris Duncombe of The Washboard Union backing him up on banjo, the set was entirely Matt. He hit a lot of songs that have become my favourites over the years -- not just of his, but of all time -- like the heartbreaking "The Fine Art of Falling Apart"; "Prime Time Deliverance", which always gives me chills; and "Running For Home", a song I never though I would get to hear live, that ended with the entire crowd singing the ending.
As he tends to be, Good was pretty candid about which songs he could and couldn't play; some he can't remember and some, such as "Weapon", just don't quite work acoustically, even giving us a preview of how boring it may sound with just one guitar. But he wasn't afraid to rework songs, such as the symphonic "While We Were Hunting Rabbits" or the horn-heavy "Zero Orchestra"

After two hours, Good "ended" with a great version of "Avalanche", but was of course back out for the encore which included some amazing older songs. "Omissions of the Omen", the secret track off Last of the Ghetto Astronauts, which he hadn't played live since 1996 (and, fun fact, is apparently the first popular use of the phrase "first world problems") and another couple fan favourites and rarely played songs, "So Long Mrs Smith" and "Life Beyond the Minimum Safe Distance", wrapped up the set of a little over two and a half hours, and left the crowd spent.

My favourite artist. In a great, intimate venue. Playing some of my favourite songs. Forget show-of-the-year. This was a show-of-a-lifetime.

setlist
Champions of Nothing, Set Me On Fire, Little Terror, While We Were Hunting Rabbits, Strange Days, Prime Time Deliverance, Born Losers, 99% of Us is Failure, Suburbia, Alert Status Red, The Fine Art of Falling Apart, How It Goes, Apparitions, Avalanche. 
(encore) Sort of a Protest Song, Zero Orchestra, Keep The Customer Satisfied [Simon & Garfunkel cover], Running For Home, Omissions of the Omen, So Long Mrs Smith, Life Beyond the Minimum Safe Distance.