Matthew Good @ Vogue Theatre -- 12/03/11

Full disclosure: Matthew Good is one of my all time favourite musicians. I have been following him for over a decade, since the Band days, and have seen him live at least once a year for the last seven years. That being said, I don't think this post will be bias because of that; rather I think he is my favourite because he puts on shows like this.

Opening the show was Daniel Wesley who I "unfortunately" missed -- I've never really been a fan, and have seen him before live so I wasn't too broken up about arriving after he played.

As it was time for Matthew Good to take the stage, the lights dimmed with only two floor lamps on either side for illumination, and Matt Good in near complete darkness, with Anthony Wright on keys for a stripped down, acoustic version of the normally orchestral "While We Were Hunting White Rabbits". Earlier in the week Good had mentioned on his social medias that he was coming down with bronchitis, but not only would he not be cancelling the remaining shows, he would be going all out, as he usually does on the last shows on the tour. And did he ever. Were it not for a horse speaking voice (and some coughing) I never would have been able to tell, as his voice soared over the beautiful piano for the opening song. If concerts are all about creating "moments", this was definitely the first of several.

The rest of the band came out, launching into "The Boy Who Could Explode", for a set that mainly focused on the new album and Good's solo career. There were the usual older ones, though; "Apparitions" and "Hello, Time Bomb" got huge recognition pops, Good stepped off the mic for the crowd to sing part of "Load Me Up" and the sheer emotion of "Weapon" gave chills. Other "moments" throughout the set included the goosebumps-inducing epic instrumental ending of "Shallow's Low", building in intensity as each band member came in, and "Zero Orchestra" an energy-filled and punchy new song that is one of the best of Good's catalogue.
There wasn't much of the usual banter, likely due to the bronchitis, which is a shame, since despite the heavy material in his songs, Good is always funny and a great story teller on stage. He also melted into the background several times, to let his band -- which included old MGB member Ian Browne on drums -- have the spotlight. Especially guitarist James Reid, who at one point tossed his hat off stage for a killer solo, only for it to be tossed back on stage and land almost perfectly on his head.

The set ended with the title track and final song off of Lights of Endangered Species, but everyone knew it wasn't done, and and during the encore break the crowd spontaneously broke in to the opening chant to "Giant", only for the familiar "K-I-C-K-A-S-S, that's the way we spell success!" and accompanying clapping to blast out of the speakers moments later as the band came back out and launched into the song. After epic "Champions of Nothing" and unreleased b-side "Hornets", the two hour set came to an end perfectly with "Set Me On Fire".

As mentioned above, I have seen Good over a half dozen times, in venues ranging from a couple hundred to a couple thousand people, and while I am not sure if this was my favourite Matthew Good show, it definitely ranks up there, and definitely will make an appearance on any inevitable best-of-2011-concerts list. It was an amazing show, and reminded me why he was one of my favourites.
As if I needed a reminder.

setlist
While We Were Hunting Rabbits; The Boy Who Could Explode; What If I Can't See The Stars, Mildred?; Zero Orchestra; Born Losers; It's Been A While Since I Was Your Man; Shallow's Low; Load Me Up; Hello, Time Bomb; The Future Is X-Rated; Non Populous; Apparitions; Weapon; Lights of Endangered Species.
(encore) Giant; Champions of Nothing; Hornets; How It Goes; Set Me On Fire.

In a Place Of Lesser Men by Matthew Good

I have made it pretty clear that Matthew Good is one of my top four favourite musicians (if not number one). I have been a fan for over a decade, and I always get more excited than a small child in a confection store when a new album comes out. And now is no exception. Lights of Endangered Species is due out May 31, and if the first single is any indication, it's going to be a bit of a departure. It's not a drastic change, but very moody and atmospheric, with woodwind (flute and english horn) and lap steel and piano. But why read my write about it, listen for yourself:


In a Place Of Lesser Men by Matthew Good

Live at Squamish. Day one, part two. -- 09/04/10

Yes, it is even more of day one of the Live at Squamish festival! When last we left off, I had just seen We Are The City on the Serf stage, and the day was just about half over. One thing I will point out is how great it was to see the festival supporting the local and/or smaller artists. And I am always going off on how neat it is that Vancouver musicians support each other... well, there were more than a few of them in the crowd. Adaline, David Vertesi and Zach Gray were all among the people who were there, not playing, but to see their friends. And even the ones that were there would be at each others sets. But I digress, back to the music!

At this point I was torn about going to see The Dudes or Hollerado. Both bands I had heard they were fantastic live, and neither I had really heard all that much of. But I liked what little I had heard from Hollerado more than what little from The Dudes (and I was too lazy to change stages) so I stuck around the Serf stage. And I am glad I did, because man, did they put on a hell of a show. I don't think anyone would call the band "groundbreaking", but they have a fantastic energy about them, and made their set just pure fun. Aside from their assortment of songs -- I actually recognized more that I thought I would -- they threw in a couple covers. The first was "Surfin' Bird", which saw the lead singer jump down into the corwd, then get hoisted back on stage. The other was a pretty damn good cover of "Rockin' in the Free World". They definitely won me over for their set, and I can see why they won the Big Money Shot Competition put on by Ottowa radio station Live 88.5.

After them, it was time to haul ass to the main stage. In the first post I mentioned that I knew I had to come when they added my favourite musician. Well, that man is Matthew Good.
The set started with the familiar cheer of "K-I-C-K-A-S-S, that's the way we spell success", and the band coming out to open with "Giant". It had been a while since I saw a show open with this, so that was awesome. It was followed by a couple more from Beautiful Midnight; "The Future is X-Rated", which is a song I'm not sure I've ever seen him play, and the song that really set the crowd off, "Hello, Time Bomb". Actually, the crowd seemed to be kind of rowdy during the set, moshing and crowd surfing to songs that you really can't do those to... I guess it was the usual somewhat liquored up festival crowd type, though. After a few others, mostly from the newest album, Vancouver, and a great version of "Apparitions" which features a lap steel, he ended the night with "Champions of Nothing", dedicated to Geoff Lloyd, founding member of the Matthew Good Band who passed away in February.
There was also an odd energy from Good. He wasn't nearly as talkative as he usually is; even stating that he had nothing, really, to say. I know in the past, festival-like shows haven't been kind to Good, but there was nothing thrown on stage this time, so I am just going to assume he was having an off day. But even with all that, he was still pretty damn great when playing, and it was, as usual, a treat to see him live. The show didn't quite match up to the last few times I saw him, but I guess it's hard to compare a festival set to a proper show.

At this point I could have left happy, but there was still one more... Devo! I never thought I would ever actually see Devo play live, so this was pretty damn nifty. Even though they were looking their age, they sure didn't sound like it. Though they did sound very much like the 80s still; they do have a very distinctive sound. A sound which maybe... should not have gone on for as long as it did. Some bands can play an hour and a half (or longer) set no problem. Some... not so much. Devo was in the latter. But don't get me wrong, the show was still incredible fun to watch, with multiple costume changes, and some funny/appropriate/great videos up on the screen behind them. There were the obvious hits, like "Whip It", "Beautiful World" and "Jocko Homo", which saw the lead singer go into the crowd for the call & response "Are we not men? We are Devo!" Aside from the length (which, I admit, could have just been fatigue and/or hunger setting in), it was still really cool experience.

And luckily, the rain more or less held off for the day, just sprinkling a little as the night came to an end. And so, that was day one. Some incredible acts -- many I have, would, or will pay to see live on their own. I also got to meet some great people.

Again, since there was so much to see and do, I have decided to split the weekend into four parts. Coming up: Day two, part one: You Say Party, Civil Twilight & Mother Mother. And I have posted the weekends pics on my flickr, check them out! Will day two live up to day one? Stay tuned to find out!

Favourite albums of 2009 (part the second)

In case you missed it, part one is here!
It's only a little late, but I finally got caught up on my backlog of albums from 2009 I wanted to review. I think I did just about every new album I picked up during 09 -- which was over 50! -- so now I might as well post my favourite twenty albums. And yes, that is "favourite", not "best", so while something may be technically "better", these were the ones I liked the most. Also, they are in order of release date, as I am terrible at numbering things.
Were I a more organized person, I would have sat down this long weekend and listened to all 20 albums and come up with something new and exciting to say for each, but with my laziness school term coming to a close, I just didn't have the time, sadly. But I have included links to all the previous reviews I did on the albums, which are still as valid now as they were then.

In A Quiet World by We Are The City (original review)
superb debut

"Fathers" EP by Black Hat Brigade (original review)
an EP with more substance than most full lengths

Dragonslayer by Sunset Rubdown (original review)
this is why SR is my favourite of all Spencer Krug's bands

Nice, Nice, Very Nice by Dan Mangan (original review)
the acclaim is much deserved

Bay of Pigs EP by Destroyer (original review[ku])
more proof of Bejar's musical genius

Monsters of Folk by Monsters of Folk (original review)
could've been messy, ended up awesome

Friends & Total Strangers by The Trews (original review[ku])
live & acoustic, shows their true talent

Vancouver by Matthew Good (original review)
favourite album of the year (surprise)

Islands Disappear by Said The Whale (original review)
possibly perfect power pop

Tic Toc Tic by The Zolas (original review)
insanely catchy


So, what do you think overall? Agree? Disagree? Think I missed something major? Just like to complain? Let me know!

Vancouver by Matthew Good

I am not going to lie, I have sort of been dreading doing my write up/review/whatever for this album. Most people who know me, or regular readers (both of you) know what Matthew Good is my favourite musician, so I was worried that I would come across as bias (at best) or a gushing fanboy (at worst). But here we go, I'll give it a shot.
His eighth full length album (counting back to the Band) is, as you can probably tell from the title, about Vancouver. Though it is not the theme of the album, but more the backdrop. It is both a love letter and a critique; as someone who has lived here his entire life, Good doesn't shy away from what is wrong with the city, but it is also clear that he cares about its ills because he loves it so.

First single "Last Parade" kicks the album off, and all ready you can tell it is going to be a bit more grandiose than the last few albums; more in line with his first solo outing, Avalanche. It also kind of introduces the theme of the album, when he spits out "It feels like time to fuck or leave" but then assures us with the chorus line "Baby, ain't it good to be back home?" It transitions nicely into "The Boy Who Could Explode", which builds from an almost haunting beginning to a soaring chorus, and even though it runs just over seven minutes, it manages not to get to boring or repetitive. Which actually happens a few times in the album, as it's only ten songs but just shy of an hour long. "Great Whales of the Sea" starts ominously, and appropriately, enough with some thunder, rain and soft whale-sounding calls before the song creeps in, for a very muted first half. The whales return mid-song before exploding into a climactic and energetic finish. I only wish it were longer; it is packed with great songwriting, yet somehow manages to be the shortest song of the album (and the only one under four minutes). Next up is "Us Remains Impossible", one of the more catchy tracks that could easily be the next single. "On Nights Like Tonight" is a bit moodier, and incredibly powerful & heartbreaking. You can feel the raw emotion as the song almost grinds to a halt for the pleading "just sit tight and I'll make my way to you" followed by the chorus "If I'm not on time / Remember that I tried". It all culminates with a beautiful swell of strings. The atmospheric "Volcanoes" follows, another slow build to a soaring chorus and is followed by "A Silent Army In The Trees", quite possibly the most powerful song on the album. It presents the disillusioned soldier who does not at all resemble the heroic fantasies of youth, lamenting "Never thought I'd live to see see the day, I'd be / Afraid of little kids playing in the streets". And the fantastic rise and fall of the music does nothing but add to the tragic beauty. "Fought To Fight It" is the most high energy and balls-out-rock song of the album, with a harshness to the music and Good spitting the lyrics through grit teeth for the verses, but ringing out with unparallelled confidence in the chorus. The album draws to a close with two absolutely epic songs. "The Vancouver National Anthem" times in at almost seven minutes, and is, as you may expect, the probably the only song "about" Vancouver, with lines like "We all live downtown / We all die downtown / Step over ourselves" evoking certain areas of the city. It is also, again as you would expect, very anthemic and grand. The incredibly ambitious "Empty's Theme Park" brings the album to an amazing close. With it's raw emotion, magnificent strings and subdued energy which is always just bubbling at the top, it does more with it's nine and a half minutes than many bands do in a whole album.
"Tell me will I dream?
And tell me will it be serene?
Or tell me will I stay
With my feet in exactly the same place?"

As with a lot of his work, Good's lyrics are still his best asset. From vague & intriguing to poignant and everywhere in between, that is the lynch pin of the album. Which is, of course, not to say that the music isn't top notch as well. It is still identifiable as Matthew Good, but he hasn't stopped taking leaps. It may sound reminiscent, but never repetitive.
Do I think of Vancouver so highly because I am such a Matthew Good fan? Or am I such a Matthew Good fan because of albums like this, which I am going to go out on a limb and call my favourite of the year? I would like to think that because I am so enamoured with his music, that gives me a much more critical ear to it. All I know for sure is, I can't wait to see what is next.


Download Great Whales of the Sea

Download On Nights Like Tonight

Download A Silent Army in the Trees

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