Latest Blog Entry June 13th

[lokee]

Very brief

 

" I'm out for a few weeks. Best mg "

 

Just curious if he is taking time off the tour OR just from blogging.

 

Thoughts anyone ?

[uglyredhonda]

Blogging. I think he's just taking a step back. The post that was replaced by that one made it clear that things were starting to get to him. I can't blame him - the last week of shows have seen more of their fair share of inappropriate behavior, including the attempted break-in of the bus.

 

He deleted an earlier post how he was thinking about ceasing his tradition of signing autographs at the tour bus after the show, given how it was tiring him out and how some people didn't seem grateful for the time. (He also noted becoming upset by drunken idiots and their retarded behavior during and after concerts.)

 

There were a lot of positive comments thanking him for the opportunity to meet him, but he apparently received some negative emails from anonymous folks, blasting him for apparently not being more gracious to his fans. He then posted today that he was definitely ceasing the signings in light of those emails and that last night's session (in Saint Catherines) "was 50/50".

 

I think he's doing the right thing by stepping back. Every now and again, he goes through a phase where things really start to get to him. In the past, he went through one of those phases and deleted his blog entirely. I think he's more grounded now (and surrounded by good people), and is more aware that the first reaction might not be the best one. Best to step back and take a few moments to let things settle a little.

 

Whether or not he actually stops the signings, I think we'll only know from the people who go to upcoming shows. But I think if I were going to an upcoming show and tried to meet him, I'd tread lightly.

 

I can definitely identify with some of what he wrote in those deleted posts. I have always been mystified by people who pay good money to see a concert and get absolutely hammered at the show. If you go to a show and want to have two or three beers to loosen up, no worries. But if you want to have a night out getting hammered, don't go to a concert. Half of the retarded bullshit that happens at concerts happens because people are too plowed to control themselves, and then somehow use their drunkenness to justify it later.

 

And I'm still amazed that Matt has ever been willing to meet so many people after a show. At the Saint Catherines show last fall, there might have been fifteen to twenty people. But, the next night at Massey, there had to have been a couple hundred surrounding the bus. And there was a pretty sizeable crowd (I assume fifty to a hundred) last week in Kitchener. I could hardly blame him for not doing it anymore - that's an awful lot to work through, particularly given how tired he looked after the shows I saw last week.

Edited June 14, 2008 by uglyredhonda

[Curtster]

I would assume he is just taking time off blogging. I can't see him cancelling shows for any other reason than sickness or family issues etc. if he was cancelling shows he would have said so.

 

He just seems really pissed right now over his bad experiences with the after show signings and then the negative feedback he got when he talked about discontinuing them.

 

I don't know how many people here saw the entry he had posted before this one (he took it down when he posted this one, I dont think it was up for very long). He went on at great length about the negative emails he got about discontinuing the aftershow signings. He was upset about one email in particular, where someone told him that he "doesn't have a real job" and he shouldn't complain. He then talked about how he does the music for himself and not the fans etc. He seemed pretty fed up.

 

Matt does all this great stuff for us fans, keeping us in the loop with his blog and allowing people to email him directly. Also with the signings after the shows. Unfortunatly the reality is when you do that stuff, not every interaction is going to be positive. People will post negative comments on the blog, send negative email and drunk people are going to come up to you after the show. Its just fact that there will be idiots in every group of people. I kind of wish he wouldn't let these people get to him so much, but I can understand how it could piss him off after a while. Its up to Matt to do this stuff, and it is his right to take it away.

[uglyredhonda]

Ahh, Christ. He rewrote the post and expanded on it. What the hell is wrong with those people?

[bim]

Just got home from the Waterfront Festival in Port Credit. It was too bad it was rained out, but there was no chance he could get on that stage. The storm hit at exactly 9:30 (when he was scheduled to go on)! It was pretty relentless and it looked like some of the gear got hit pretty hard by the rain.

 

It was a weird type of crowd before hand (ages 5-80), but the rain really cleared out the people who were just there because it was a cheap thing to do for the night. All in all, about 50 fans huddled by the stage through the rain hoping to hear something, but the storm just didn't stop. Matt was gracious enough to come out once the show was officially cancel and apologize. The remaining crowd was thankful (as far as I could hear) and gave him applause for coming to say hi and apologize...but its a storm...nothing he could do. Just glad I got to see him at Massey Hall a few weeks ago!

 

Too bad it didn't work out. Hope Matt doesn't receive bad feedback about the show. There was nothing that could be done to save it.

Edited June 14, 2008 by bim

[thewickernightmare]

I left before he came out on stage, I heard they couldn't play and didn't feel like standing in the rain any longer. Any idea about a refund? Thank God it was only $15 but I did just spend $15 to go stand in a thunderstorm for about 45 minutes rather than see Matt play. I assume there will be no refunds though.

[bim]

I doubt there will be a refund because the $15 is a pass for the whole weekend whether you want to go back or not.

[Zoon]

At least Truly Odd received plenty of stage time. ;)

[kbernardp]

As an outsider completely not familiar with the "gimme this" of rock star life, I have to say that I see where he's coming from.

 

My wife and I drove over 1,000 miles to see him (round trip.) I noticed two things.... 1) that people weren't there to see a Matthew Good show. They were there to see that guy that plays Time Bomb and Load Me Up. Even getting to know bystanders took away from the anticipation of taking a road trip to see him.

 

The second thing I noticed was the overwhelming anti-American sentiments that befell my wife and I fielded just by our accents at times. The amazing thing about that is that I grew up 5 miles south of Canada under a family consisting 95% of Canadians! My friends in DC (I'm a recent transplant) call me "the Canadian guy." We were asked about George Bush at least 5 times. For the record, I don't know the guy and this isn't "my" war.

 

I suppose my point is that from what I experienced there wasn't much of a "wow, this is Matthew Good" response. There was more of an "oh my God, beers are six bucks, but at least that guy who sings that song is here. Maybe we'll drink and dance or maybe we'll just drink."

 

So separate that from the following.

 

I am not a huge Bob Dylan fan. I've gone to seven Bob Dylan concerts. The first time I went because I wanted to say I was there. The next six times I went because I knew someone who wanted to say they were there. Are you following me?

 

Matthew Good is an icon. People watch Antiques Roadshow and think about how valuable their nightstands might be the same way they recognize how regional icons will be available for live-viewing. Anyone who comes here or reads his blog are exceptions, absolutely. But you have to face the fact that people see everything from story value to monetary value in something like a Matthew Good vis-a-vis or an autograph. Some people even go because "aw shit, twenty bucks is nothing."

 

So we are fans, and we know the difference.

 

Unfortunately his experiences aren't subject to the same regulations and demeanor we try to hold to AS fans. We are that subculture within that uncontrolled universe even the rest of us experience everyday. The rest of us have the convenience of not being that guy who is recognized and pre-judged by everyone else. Face it, even when he stops on the road to choose what he wants on his pizza he's probably dealing with someone who has an opinion of him.

 

So the guy wants to take a break. He didn't go to a major publishing distributor to say "Attn: Everyone. I'm done with this autograph bullshit." He came to the people who cared and said "just so you know... I'm tired of some of this and I need some space. I'm sorry for alienating you, but this is how it is right now. Personal choice."

 

So just respect it. When I don't want to answer questions, I ask my wife for some understanding. I've never had to ask the public for that.

 

He clearly does.

 

When it all boils down to the undiluted basics of being a person, we're all entitled to our feelings and emotions. You don't answer to him anymore than he answers to you. So one of these days you'll get your autograph. For now, just hold tight and enjoy the same music you enjoyed before he came to town.

 

And to the rest of you, suck it. :-)

Edited June 14, 2008 by kbernardp

[adrianf74]

I was there, too. I had the fortune of seeing him last weekend in Oshawa. Despite some members of the white trash crowd, I thought it'd be great to see him again. I took tonight off work because I figured the storm would hit long before it did.

 

Nosireebob! 9:28, the skies opened up with a light show that preceded it for about 15 minutes.

Managed to make it to the VIP tent for cover; but learned that several guitars were damaged by water from a leak above the stage. At 10:15, organizers pulled the plug. MG came out about 5 minutes later to appologize personally and explained that he couldn't do it because he'd already once been electrocuted and that he didn't want to put the band, the crew or the fans in jeopardy.

 

People around where I was standing didn't understand the severity of a thunderstorm. With the voltage required for the sound system and lights, the risk is hundreds of times greater of being hit by a strike because lightning (electricity) is attracted to electricity. As MG mentioned in his updated blog, being on a metal stage runs a higher risk of being struck. Not only this, and it isn't mentioned, there's a greater chance of it also (or instead) hitting the crowd and possibly injuring or killing fans.

 

It's b.s. that organizers refused refunds - I asked based on mu taking the night off to attend as well as not being able to come back because of work saying I should email the organizers because they were unable to give me a wristband I could give to someone else.

 

But if it matters, all money from every wristband goes to charity. So, do I want to get a refund in that case? No. I don't. Got to see The Spades again and got their CD (which they asked to sign for me despite my feelings on autographed CDs) and I also picked up a signed copy of Hospital Music.

 

All in all, a bad way to end the night - but there was no SAFE alternative. Too bad, too, because it would've been a killer show.

[borntohula]

people are idiots. it was raining so goddamn hard. even if there was no lighting, that show would've been miserable. i can't believe people are complaining about matt in regards to a situation that was completely out of his control. i was floored when people were booing at the announcement that the show had to be postponed. who do they think they are?

[Curtster]

sounds to me like there was no possible way that the show could have happened. I think any reasonable, educated person could see that it wasn't his fault and they did the best, safest thing. I think its horrible that people still contact him angry about it anyway. But, this would probably be why most artists don't allow people to contact them directly. I feel bad for him though and I can see why he is pissed.

 

I hope he is still into playing though, because I am excited to see him in Nanaimo. I also have a friend who I recently made into a MG fan, and he is looking forward to the Victoria show.

[~VIN~]

This makes me hope he stops touring long enough for people who only know Load Me Up to forget who he is and he only does acoustic shows that I can take my grandchildren to.

[AnOceanPearl]

People are fucking ridiculous. I just deleted a whole ton of wall posts in a Matt Good group on Facebook because people thought it was awesome of them to start discussing a)Matt's personal life which they b)have no fucking clue about. It boggle my mind how people hear or see something, or even THINK they see something, and all of a sudden they're [insert whatever deity or cosmic force you subscribe to]'s own messenger and all of a sudden think they have all the facts.

 

/end rant

 

I really hope the weather is nice for the Virgin Music Festival ;)

[MissEmily]

I really wish he'd take some kind of break from touring. The Beatles did it and look what happened there. The good news in Matt's case, he's only dealing with one person, so touring would never be out of the question. Either that or simply cut back on the touring. Maybe two weeks here and there, fly out to whatever province and tour a week, etc, but not two months straight. After the bullshit he seems to put up with everytime he tours Ontario, the rest would be extremely benefitcal.

 

Besides, it's not like his true fans will really miss him - thanks to his blogging, he's in continuous touch with us, and that alone can sometimes be worth more than the touring. Yes, getting to tell him how much his music means to me to his face and getting him to sign the picture I hang on my desk at work is exciting, but being able interact like I can online made the second time I got to say hi feel like when I meet other Internet friends for the first time. (The first time was not so much because I had only just started reading the blog full time about a month or so prior.)

 

I wish him a safe journey home and a speedy return to the blog.

[Shiri]

People like to complain, it's nothing new. I don't envy Matt and I wouldn't want to be in his position where he feels like he has to justify himself. I think the problem is that because of his blog and his accessbility, people feel like they can get away with this sort of compalining and demanding. If I were him, I'd just stop blog, who the hell needs this headache.

[Crusader]

People are fucking ridiculous. I just deleted a whole ton of wall posts in a Matt Good group on Facebook because people thought it was awesome of them to start discussing a)Matt's personal life which they b)have no fucking clue about. It boggle my mind how people hear or see something, or even THINK they see something, and all of a sudden they're [insert whatever deity or cosmic force you subscribe to]'s own messenger and all of a sudden think they have all the facts.

 

/end rant

 

I really hope the weather is nice for the Virgin Music Festival ;)

oh god. i read that yesterday and knew something shitty was bound to happen.

[thewickernightmare]

I don't think Matt can stop touring, nor should he. It is how he makes money. He is not an extremely rich person. He needs to tour so that he can survive. Tough break that "fans" can be retarded but thats life.

 

On another note, being there last night I totally understand that they couldn't play and totally respect that decision. I am slightly annoyed that I got there and paid to get in at about 9:26...if the rain started a couple minutes earlier then I would've just said fuck it and left, but thats just bad luck on my part.

[Guest Prosis]

As some of you know, I have worked on various incarnations of Matt's websites since 2000. This is yet another case I've seen of people acting like complete idiots. His reaction is normal and, given his hope in Man, he simply (one could argue naively) expects better and when that happens, he just steps back and goes "what the hell!".

 

Between the years 2000 and 2002, I've seen tons of emails telling him off for the whole Our Lady Peace/Nickelback thing.

 

Back in 2006, some of you may recall a forum being online for something like 5 hours before it was shut down. I created this forum with Matt and we had worked on the design for about the same amount of time it was online...which for a forum is a long time.

 

The truth of the matter is that Matthew is one of the artist who is the closest to his fans I have ever seen. This is a privilege not a right. But this is a double edged dagger. Because then some fans then act like Matthew is their possession.

 

I personally have never seen an artist that would spend in excess of 1 hour or 1 hour and a half signing autographs, talking to fans, taking pictures, etc. When I first met the man, I was given an All Access backstage pass. Once there, I was given beer, was included in conversations, was offered to be on stage with the band (it was in July 2001), was given a t-shirt, took pictures, got my Loser Anthems signed and was treated as part of the crew the whole time. That is an artist who cares about his fans and the attitude should be saluted.

 

Never should he be faced with the kind of idiocy he is faced with on a daily basis.

 

That being said, it is yet another sad day in the MG camp. Because this kind of attitude gives MG fans a really bad name. Maybe the solution would be for him to just cut all contacts with us. Then he wouldn't have to face such extraordinary stupidity (and mental disturbance...let's be honest) as he does. That would bring back the wall there was between artists and fans back in the days the Internet didn't exist.

 

Of course, at the end of the day, a lot of "fans" will say he's just a cry baby. Well, these people are simply not able to put themselves in other people's shoes. Remember that for each fan acting like an idiot, there are 10 more. Again, my theory of "there's nothing more stupid that a bunch of people" stands. Only in this case, the bunch of people are online.

[shade]

I was there....and fuck matt good for not playing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

j/k I was at home...the storm was crazy.

[KET]

The way things have been going lately, it's no surprise that he needs a break. Between the paintball incident, someone trying to break on the bus, the fighting at shows, and dealing with drunks at the autograph sessions... not to mention feeling under the weather... and not to mention all the negative e-mails he must get (and which he specifically mentioned in regards to the Juno Beach entry and the meet-n-greet entry). As well, someone at the St. Catharine's show wrote a pretty unpleasant and rude blog comment about his performance and his after-show behaviour, which has to be a slap in the face.

 

 

His latest entry floored me... seriously, what is wrong with people? Expecting him to play in a storm? Threatening some random woman in the UK? ("People will take matters into their own hands"? WTF?) I'd say he needs a good, long breather. There are far too many idiots in the world, and he's far too accessible to them. I'd hate to see him burn out to the point that he cuts himself off completely from everyone, even the respectful ones, which seem to be the majority of those who comment on his site (though, granted, as he said, the negative ones tend to do so over e-mail, not publicly, so I really have no idea what the postive/negative balance is).

 

(Also: hi everyone!)

[adrianf74]

That being said, it is yet another sad day in the MG camp. Because this kind of attitude gives MG fans a really bad name. Maybe the solution would be for him to just cut all contacts with us. Then he wouldn't have to face such extraordinary stupidity (and mental disturbance...let's be honest) as he does. That would bring back the wall there was between artists and fans back in the days the Internet didn't exist.

 

Of course, at the end of the day, a lot of "fans" will say he's just a cry baby. Well, these people are simply not able to put themselves in other people's shoes. Remember that for each fan acting like an idiot, there are 10 more. Again, my theory of "there's nothing more stupid that a bunch of people" stands. Only in this case, the bunch of people are online.

'Tis a shame. He really does care about his fans but the shenanigans that have taken place in Ontario over the past week or so would put a serious damper on anyone's mood.

 

Last night, it'd have to be hard to see a pretty full field of people get soaked and then be unable to play for them while you're around backstage.

 

I applaud Matt for coming out after it was canceled. He didn't have to; he could've said, "Fuck it... we're outta here."

 

Like I said in a post in a response to one of his recent "white trash Ontarian" blogs, it's sad to see how far-gone humanity is there days; and how a small handful of idiots can ruin it for everyone else.

 

How is it fun for anybody to receive the flak he's received over the past week or so? He's always been about honesty - especially with his fans - and I commend him for this. The fact that he stands outside for 60-90 for pictures and autographs is a rarity in this day and age; but, again, this isn't for - or about - him, he does it for his fans.

 

The man makes his cash touring; album sales are down because people just download albums from the internet. I will admit that I had downloaded Hospital Music prior to the show but did buy a copy (an autographed one at that). I like to support the smaller artists and they need the support from the fans. Just because he does sign crap and take pictures with fans doesn't mean that he has to; it's not a right - it's a privilege. Some idiots abused it; and have made Matt feel extremely uncomfortable (perhaps even exposed) and now he has the right to not be so open with his fans.

 

I mean, look at this idiot that sent the e-mail on Facebook yesterday to him. Gimme a fucking break - that isn't fair or right. People just don't get it anymore. It's not about him not wanting play - it was that he couldn't because it was unsafe for EVERYONE; especially those in and around the stage. All somebody needed was for the lightning to strike in front of the stage where the crowd was to see somebody killed.

 

It's really unfortunate but I applaud Matt in doing the right thing.

 

Matt (if you read this) - if you want to go into hiding for a while, I think the true fans will understand. Really, it's about what's best for YOU and it has _nothing_ to do with us. Those that choose not to understand or refuse to are not fans and are not the type of people you want listening to your music - or coming to your shows for that matter - in the first place.

 

All the best!

[AnOceanPearl]

oh god. i read that yesterday and knew something shitty was bound to happen.

So far I've only fielded two messages regarding it, but I'm sure to expect more.

[Hyphnip]

I'm never gonna meet matt ;)

[AnOceanPearl]

I'm never gonna meet matt ;)

Oh yes you are!

 

New Morning