Some people doubted that this day would come but it finally happened, Matthew Good is set to play Ottawa, Ontario this July 7th! Matthew will be playing at the Blues Festival along with two other additional new dates in Ontario.

As we had announced with the last update, Ontario group The Spades are set to open for Matthew Good in his full band performances. Check our concert listings for more dates.

After experiencing several resets on this months charity auction, the winning bid for dinner with Matthew Good was a respectable $2610! Congratulations to all that participated.

Opening act: Ontario's The Spades are set to open for Matthew Good this May. Their latest album "Let it Grow" and some mp3s of their music are available on their website.

Update: Two full band shows have also been announced for Nanaimo and North Bay. Check our concert listings.

Have you ever wanted to meet Matthew Good? Well, here's your chance. Starting this April 2nd, 2008, an eBay auction will be held for the Babz Chula Society in Vancouver.

Babz Chula is regarded as one of Canada's most accomplished actors and a veritable life force in Vancouver's independent film community. She is a generous mentor to young artists and a tireless volunteer to countless charity causes. A cancer survivor for many years, recently, Babz learned that her cancer has recurred. Once again, she's fighting for her life, undergoing both traditional and naturopathic treatments, the latter of which is not covered by medical insurance.

Show your support for Ms. Chula and you could win a dinner with Matthew Good or one of the many other celebrities participating in the auction.

ATTENTION: the Rochester (The Club) and Burlington (Higher Ground) shows have been CANCELLED. Matthew has relapsed from his previous food poisoning. Contact venues for more information.

On Nights like Tonight and Us Remains Impossible, two new demos, are up for listening on Matthew Good's blog. Official lyrics for the first demo have been posted as well as some rough takes at some of the other tracks: Empty's Themepark, which was a demo from a few weeks back, being one of them.

It seems that Matthew's recovering from his bout of food poisoning, so we'll keep an eye out for any rescheduled dates. An additional show for the full band tour has also been added in Kingston. Check our concert listings for more information. Stay tuned!

UPDATE: The SXSW show at Momo's (Austin, Texas) has also been CANCELLED! Stay tuned for more information.

The San Diego show at the Belly Up Tavern has been CANCELLED due to illness!

It is unknown whether or not the show will be rescheduled but we will keep you posted when more information arrives. We do not know if this will affect Matthew Good's performance at Momo's for the SXSW showcase but we are assuming that it is not. Fans can likely contact the venues for information regarding tickets. Check our concert listings for venue changes.

We at Near Fantastica wish Matthew a speedy recovery.

Update 2: FOURTEEN additional dates have been announced for Matthew Good's full band tour in Canada. The new tickets will start to go on sale this February 28th! More information and dates are available in our concert listings.

Update: two new shows added.

Good news for all of you eager rabbits, a full band tour is set to start this May/June 2008! The first date is set to be in Toronto at the Massey Hall about two months after the last US acoustic tour date.

As the price of travel/permits/visas would be rather high it is highly unlikely that the full band tour will continue to the United States. But don't fret! The Acoustic tour begins this March 7th in Seattle, Washington. Check our concert listings for more dates and information.

For those of you that missed it, another demo was posted on Matthew Good's blog a few days ago. The Vancouver National Anthem takes a look at Vancouver's poverty stricken East Side and our city's apparent "Vancouver attidute." Lyrics for the song and more demos are available in the lyrics section and will soon be available in the new album section.

Stay tuned for more updates and the new site!