2017 tour reviews

[emmit643]

Avalanche would make a beautiful encore opener.

I'd also be down for absolutely anything at all on the 12 string.

[folk singer]

my wife would lose her shit if he played advertising on police cars in the encore (we missed it last tour)... Also, definitely buying a shirt 

[daniel_v]

Running for Home

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11c4zJEeiEw

Sounds beautiful. I think I may like this better than the original, actually. It's more haunting. Stu and Blake kind of channel a Daniel Lanois vibe with the guitar/drum work and it appears my concerns about Matt's voice on the album were just momentary. He sounds bloody amazing.
Kind of wish they had redone the entire album after listening to this, haha. 
 

On a side, sound issues aside, that is an incredible looking venue. 




 

Edited February 14, 2017 by daniel_v

[emmit643]

Running for Home

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11c4zJEeiEw

 

Sounds beautiful. I think I may like this better than the original, actually. It's more haunting. Stu and Blake kind of channel a Daniel Lanois vibe with the guitar/drum work and it appears my concerns about Matt's voice on the album were just momentary. He sounds bloody amazing.

Kind of wish they had redone the entire album after listening to this, haha. 

 

On a side, sound issues aside, that is an incredible looking venue. 

 

 

 

 

 

wow. Sounds amazing. God, I can't wait!!! Just booked my bus for Toronto.

 

I also put my vote in for Going All the Way at VIP soundcheck Toronto Mar 11. We'll see what happens! Honestly, there's nothing on the list that I wouldn't enjoy hearing.

[Guest Idioteque]

So.. are the only songs available to hear during soundcheck the same songs you will hear later that night? I'm confused. The only toss up is the encore songs but if you're seeing Matt more than 1 day then you'll likely hear everything that's on rotation. 

[emmit643]

So.. are the only songs available to hear during soundcheck the same songs you will hear later that night? I'm confused. The only toss up is the encore songs but if you're seeing Matt more than 1 day then you'll likely hear everything that's on rotation.

m

Yup. You got it.

[Guest Idioteque]

That's interesting. 

[emmit643]

That's interesting.

I mean, I suppose as the tour goes on, and time passes, and they head more East, we might get some different stuff in the encores? But as far as voting goes that's what was available.

[adam_777]

The show in Nanaimo was excellent tonight.  Same setlist as the opener in Victoria.  The crowd was again pretty reserved, basically standing for the encore only.  There were also some pretty blatant requests all night long for Symbolistic White Walls which Matt addressed and said that song obviously isn't on Beautiful Midnight and the band doesn't know it.  Then he made a pretty hilarious reference to the fact that as a musician basically the setlist is not democratized, he still holds the conch.

It might just have been where I was sitting, but man was the sound and mix ever good tonight.  Everything was in a beautiful balance and it really took the show to another level.  I was in front of Stu so I got the chance to watch him closely and he does so many interesting guitar bits that I think get sorely overlooked.  During the chorus of A Boy and His Machine Gun he does this little lick that is both hypnotic and rocking which fits the tone of that song so well.  Matt's voice sounded solid again tonight too, I get absolute chills listening to him sing the chorus to Going All The Way

Also he actually sang Let's Get in On full on in the crowd, sitting in a seat in the second row which was empty before getting up and standing there to sing the rest.  He said he did he cause he wanted to see the light show from the crowd perspective.  

Pretty awesome wrap to his mini tour of Vancouver Island.  Now off to Vancouver and the Commodore Ballroom.  Won't be too many people sitting there, unless they fancy sitting in two inches of spilled beer and empty cups.  

Edited February 15, 2017 by adam_777

[Guest Idioteque]

You explained the commodore ballroom floor better than I ever could lol. Tripping on bottles.

[adam_777]

Yup love the venue but the floor is a damn mess by nights end.  What it took them three days to do at Woodstock the crowd at the Commodore can do in three hours.  

Edited February 16, 2017 by adam_777

[Guest Idioteque]

Unreal. Of course I get sick the week Matt is playing. It was much worse on monday/tuesday, all I have now is a barking cough but my body is trying to convince me to stay home this weekend.

 

So bummed. Not sure what to do, I definitely dont want to get anyone else sick but I think I'll be basically back to normal by the Feb 18th show, its the show on the 17th Im unsure about, which I already bought 2 tickets for.

 

Regardless I'll be as far away from the stage as possible out of respect to the band & all you people seeing Matt in the future.

 

Anyone have quick-thinking remedies for colds?

[daniel_v]

Unreal. Of course I get sick the week Matt is playing. It was much worse on monday/tuesday, all I have now is a barking cough but my body is trying to convince me to stay home this weekend.

 

So bummed. Not sure what to do, I definitely dont want to get anyone else sick but I think I'll be basically back to normal by the Feb 18th show, its the show on the 17th Im unsure about, which I already bought 2 tickets for.

 

Regardless I'll be as far away from the stage as possible out of respect to the band & all you people seeing Matt in the future.

 

Anyone have quick-thinking remedies for colds?

Long as you make sure you cough inside your shirt and wash your hands throughout the night getting other people sick shouldn't be an issue. 

 

As far as quick remedies for colds go I think your body just kind of has to go through it, unfortunately. Trying to force yourself to act/be alright sometimes just prolongs it as you're using more energy than you should. General rule of thumb though is just the basics: drink lots of water to flush your system out and get as much sleep/rest as you can so your body can regenerate. 

Edited February 16, 2017 by daniel_v

[AnOceanPearl]

I'm at the tail end of a cold and my wife just got one, so I'm kind of in the same boat, but definitely hoping we're better by Saturday. Hope you feel better! It's super crappy being at shows when you're sick or missing shows when you're sick.

[emmit643]

Juice from a lemon, fresh grated ginger, cayenne pepper, bit of honey and some hot water. (Or skip the water and do it like a shot). Chase that cold away.

[Prairieboy]

Juice from a lemon, fresh grated ginger, cayenne pepper, bit of honey and some hot water. (Or skip the water and do it like a shot). Chase that cold away.

I've used this identical recipe but added some apple cider vinegar as well :)

[Guest girl]

Don't get me wrong I like that venue a ton and the sound will be a trillion times better than Victoria. But I won't be making it even though the 17th is my birthday cuz I can't afford the trip over. So I'm looking forward to hearing what people think of the Vancouver shows, what the crowd is like, what Matt jokes about, etc.

 

Aw, you can't make it? I was looking forward to reading your review of the VIP soundcheck and Vancouver concert. That's too bad.

Happy Birthday Marcy, and welcome back!

Edited February 17, 2017 by girl

[Guest girl]

Anyone have quick-thinking remedies for colds?

My mom had severe body pains and/or a cold and the doctor prescribed her to take a detox bath with 2 cups of epsom salt, right before going to bed. She had the best sleep of her life and had no signs of sickness the next morning.

[Manchalivin]

It seems like they're playing Apparitions more like the original in that video on YT, or is it just me?  It made me pretty nostalgic listening to this particular performance.  Really good.  I rather enjoyed the RFH as well.  Looking forward to hearing this album live on the 3rd.

 

I am intrigued by the different sound of the main riff in Decades (sounds cool), but I'm not sure about the chorus.  It's kind of bland.

[Guest Idioteque]

Thank you all! Great advice. I can breathe out of my nose again so I think I'll be making both shows.

 

Marcy did you already buy tickets for the commodore show? If you can somehow get to Vancouver tomorrow I can give you money for the ferry if that helps. ☺

[clickarmy]

Encore from the show tonight:

 

Born Losers

Decades

Apparitions

Weapon

 

Real good show, crowd was pretty fired up as you might expect. Matt had to stop at one point during Rorschach Test because of some scuffle on the floor and someone puked during the break before the encore so pretty standard for the Commodore haha. Loved hearing some of the BM tracks live for the first time and all in all a pretty good show. 

[Guest Idioteque]

Yeah this was a weird show for me lol. I was on the side with all the scuffles. First a girl got a guy kicked out because she said he had his lighter (during Strange Days) too close to her hair. I dont see why he needed to be dragged out. Then the scuffle during Rorschach, from what I could see someone was trying to steal the railing from another person, now that is very rude but didnt escalate thankfully.

 

Hearing feedback from random fans & friends after the show it seems the "revisited" stuff wasn't what a lot of people expected from "Beautiful Midnight Tour". As a huge fan I actually dug the changed tracks, but I can still see from their perspective of wanting to hear BM practically identical to the original since that's what's advertised. I doubt most casual fans would notice or care but these shows are heavily MGB hardcore fans. So they either support Matt's creativeness or have an expectation to hear the songs they grew up with untouched.

To each their own.

 

It's definitely making me hope that any other MGB album tours can just be played like the original for the sake of keeping a consistent nostalgic flow. The reworked stuff can be played for VIP possibly since you'd be hearing the same songs twice.

 

 

 

 

Now for the usual odd mrtrufflepig story.

 

My girlfriend flew all the way from Australia to see Matt play for the first time & had a fantastic time, since both of us felt pretty healthy & wired from the show we decided what the hell, lets see if we can get some records signed or at least get a wave, if not no harm no foul. I saw Matt's kids on the side stage during the concert so I told her if they all leave together then we need to go quietly because that's family & they need their privacy. We stood across the alley & minded our own business fully expecting to leave within a few minutes anyways. 2 other guys showed up drunk but were quiet & just wanted to wave at Matt, I told them that if there's kids we all need to go which everyone respectfully agreed. So of course they come out asleep cueing us all to start to go, but not before we got rudely shouted at by one of his crew members & told to leave. That kind of left a bad taste with me, considering it was just 4 people across the alley being respectful & understanding the family situation once we saw them, there just wasn't a need to shout at us.

 

Idk, it left a sour note to a good night, my gf took it pretty hard unfortunately. We might not be going tomorrow night now.

 

If you read this Matt, I hope Ive left a good enough impression on the forums the past few years for people to know im pretty respectful when it comes to meeting musicians. We weren't there with the intent to intrude. My gf was just really excited to see you including me. I apologize if we might have upset you.

[Gomo]

I dunno guys, I have never been to a show where there was a fight or a sick person. Or even a really, really terrible drunk person that ruined everything. Like ever. Yet I seem to read a lot about it on this board. lol. Do Canadians just party harder?

[foats]

Tony,

 

I am sorry that this happened to you. I had an incident like this occur in Buffalo with Pearl Jam. My friend is a police officer and him and I along with a group of maybe 8 other people were standing behind a gated area waiting to see Eddie.  He rides in a black SUV type vehicle and we stood there waiting patiently. This rude guard shows up and starts telling people they need to "get the fuck out of here and just go home".  One of the men waiting said something to the lines of "you don't own this it's public property".   The guard was getting pissed and as we walked near the man my friend Chris pulls out his badge and says "Do you own this property?"  The guard was shocked. Chris told him as long as the small crowd is standing there minding their business behind an actual fence  they can stay.  As luck would have it 45 mins later Eddie comes out along with another giant bodyguard, looks over to the small group waves and hops in his suv.  I was surprised at how short he was to be honest but he did smile at the small group and stood there enough for people to snap quick pics of him. 

 

Now the question I ask is who do you blame for this?  Is it the artist specifically telling their guards/bouncers/tour people  to get the fans out before they get to their bus or are these bouncers/tour people  just pricks and not wanting to monitor a few people looking for a pic/autograph?   

 

The other thing I can say on Matt's defense is that for this tour he has the VIP option so I could see to where it may not be fair for some to pay to get the VIP perks and then just have people wait and get a more personalized pic for free after the show.  Either way there is no excuse for how Tony and his girlfriend were treated. Tony I know you are a huge fan and I hope you do go to the show tonight and have a great time. Don't let one rude tour worker ruin the years you have built as a fan of Matt's work.

[Guest Idioteque]

Oh I hold no ill will towards Matt & wouldn't lay 0.001% blame towards him, it was well within his right to not see people after a concert, it just caught us all by surprise at how rude that crew member was.

 

I've had security guards walk over to crowds & say "Hey just to let you know _______ isn't feeling well & won't be signing anything" and everyone leaves.

 

It didn't help the +2 hour trek back to Langley being super bummed lol but its just how being a fan is sometimes, I would never expect a second of Matt's time outside a venue and even with that said he's greeted me many times & taken the time to sign & talk so again no hate to Matt. I felt I had to say something because I didnt know if from Matt's point of view we were being rude which wasn't any of our intentions at all.

 

Problem is I hate photos, love framing signed vinyl, its a curse. Matt's VIPs have been slowly becoming so limited in content that there isn't any option besides waiting outside a venue for an autograph. During Arrows of Desire, there was a lineup of at least 100 people for VIP at the Vancouver show because you got to meet him, photos & autographs, vinyl, poster etc.

 

Now its a group photo, and you hear the same songs played later that night. That just isn't appealing to me personally & I heard the turnout haven't been great.

 

I'm willing to pay $100-$200 for more content, im sure most would agree. Example Big Wreck KILLS it with their VIP.

 

VIP GOLD – $99.99

(plus tax, $9 shipping & applicable fees)

Premium ticket (rows 1-10) -OR- general admission *

Meet-and-greet with Big Wreck

Early entry to the venue

VIP soundcheck experience

VIP laminate

Autographed 8x10

Autographed CD

10% discount at the merch booth

 

That right there is a huge package considering each member needs a cut but they only charge $99. Replace "Big Wreck" with "Matthew Good" & tell me you wouldn't pay top dollar for that lol.

 

Also just to add I saw a photo on social media of him greeting fans after the show on thursday which made me think that it was okay to try for this tour lol.

"oh what's the worst that could happen!"

 

 

The worst happened lol.