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2017 tour reviews

By foats, in Matthew Good

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UnderdogsofBeing

UnderdogsofBeing

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If you want to hear how Failing The Rorschach Test sounded then take a listen here: https://soundcloud.com/sean-gursky/matthew-good-live-failing-the-rorschach-test.

 

I can't wait for Friday.  It's probably my favorite song off Beautiful Midnight and I've waited 20 years to hear it live.  I didn't think I actually ever would.  This recording just makes me even more excited.  

 

I was going to steer clear of any recordings of it but caved.  I was so worried this would be like Symboilstic White Walls where when I finally get to hear it, it's a shell of the original (no bass or keyboards).  This sounds better then how it is on Beautiful Midnight.  Wish he released this on the revisited album!

Edited by UnderdogsofBeing
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Guest girl

Guest girl

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How was the show otherwise? They've had a pretty tough schedule lately. They had four shows in a row, one day off and then Red Deer and Grande Prairie back to back, which is between a five and six hour drive isn't it? Now back down to Calgary. A well-deserved day off.

 

I loved every minute it of this concert. There is something very special about being in a smaller-sized venue. I will have to go to more of them in the future. Craig Stickland was a great opener. He is the best opening act I have seen for Matt Good, hands down. I will purchase his CDs soon.

 

Wow, the opening sequence was so beautiful. It was breathtaking. The highlight for me was Born To Kill, Weapon and Matt walking along the room divider railing during a song. He sure has good balance and coordination. It was very cool to watch. I enjoyed his banter once he returned to the stage, regarding other artists who have performed in small venues such as this one. Listening to Beautiful Midnight from start to finish brought back a lot of memories. It was like I was listening to it for the very first time. I love the fresh new takes on the songs. I will remember this concert for many years to come.

 

During Load Me Up, at around the 29:39 minute mark, the system blew. The lights on stage suddenly went dark, and the music came to a complete halt. I've never seen that happen on stage at a concert before, mid-song. Matt said,

I mean our show is kind of too big for in here. At any time, I think that's like 6% of our entire lighting rig.  But whenever you blow a system, you gotta be proud of that.

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gursky

gursky

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Listening to Beautiful Midnight from start to finish brought back a lot of memories. It was like I was listening to it for the very first time. I love the fresh new takes on the songs. I will remember this concert for many years to come.

 

I never thought of it this way but I completely agree.  I still remember the day Beautiful Midnight was released and listening to the album on the way back from the store (friend and I drove over an hour to buy it), but hearing the entire album live for the first time is going to be another great memory for years to come.  

 

My excitement level for the Calgary show tonight is even higher than it was for the Red Deer show.

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gursky

gursky

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Calgary VIP was pretty rad. I'm always in the back of the venue (for recording reasons) and haven't been close to the stage in over a decade. I forgot how awesome it is up there and you can really appreciate the work the band is doing.

 

They played Decades, Advertising on Police Cars and Running for Home. MG mentioned that the audience voted for two songs in tonight's encore, so tonight could be similar to Red Deer and that's not a bad thing.

 

The band was also experimenting with Avalanche and while buying merchandise I heard samples of Alert Status Red. Looks like the shows further east may get some surprises!

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Prairieboy

Prairieboy

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Calgary VIP was pretty rad. I'm always in the back of the venue (for recording reasons) and haven't been close to the stage in over a decade. I forgot how awesome it is up there and you can really appreciate the work the band is doing.

They played Decades, Advertising on Police Cars and Running for Home. MG mentioned that the audience voted for two songs in tonight's encore, so tonight could be similar to Red Deer and that's not a bad thing.

The band was also experimenting with Avalanche and while buying merchandise I heard samples of Alert Status Red. Looks like the shows further east may get some surprises!

Frick...Avalanche?? Really?? *drool*

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Moonlight_Graham

Moonlight_Graham

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Someone started yelling for Rico half way through the concert (not sure if they were serious or if it was a joke), but then another audience member called them out on it reminding them it was the Beautiful Midnight tour, not the Underdogs tour, which then led to a conversation between the crowd and Matt about whether he'd ever be willing to play LOTGA, LOES, or a couple other songs live again. Then just before Matt was about to start into the next song someone else in the crowd went "soooo...Rico?!" Everyone, including Matt, burst out laughing. It was just good timing, lol. I really hope someone caught that on video or audio.

 

MG crowds I've found have a great sense of humour.  I saw a solo acoustic show a few years ago.  Matt was saying a little banter about how it shouldn't be "sex, drugs, and rock n roll", that it should just be about the "rock n roll" and leave the "sex and drugs" part out of it.  Then some guy in the audience yelled out "but we like those things!.  Matt laughed, it was funny.

 

-Loved how everyone cheered the fact that Blake was 51. It's a distinguished age and most of the people I really respect are around the 45-60 agemark. Age is subjective and I loved how the crowd seemed to agree.

 

To me it's completely irrelevant the age of a musician, it's how hard and passionate you can play.  Blake always plays with a ton of energy & spirit, and I love him for that, he puts on a great show behind the kit, he can outplay a lot of musicians in their 20's and 30's based on the energy he puts into the show.

Edited by Moonlight_Graham
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adam_777

adam_777

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Thought tonights show was pretty good the band persevered against some technical difficulties. Matt's mic died near the end of Lets get it On and Stu's guitar didn't work at the start of weapon and had to be swapped. Stu also seemed to be battling a bit against his tone in the beginning of Running For Home. But all in all a pretty good show. Matt's voice seemed particularly strong tonight. Crowd was interesting. Though most were pretty enthusiastic there seemed to be alot who came just to socialize. Also there were some really annoying drunk people just screaming shit at the band. Even during songs. Mostly requests. But some guy seemed to want to give Matt microphone advice.

 

By the way a question for people who go to many Alberta shows. What is the deal with Alberta fans and Rico? In the six shows i was at in BC I heard some fans yell requests, strangely many were for LOTGA songs. But I didnt hear one Rico request. In the two Alberta shows ive heard nearly a dozen different people shout Rico. Its by far the most requested thing ive heard here. Was it a much bigger hit here than it was in BC?

Edited by adam_777
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UnderdogsofBeing

UnderdogsofBeing

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Stu was having issues from the start tonight. That whole "I can't think of anything to say" bit from Matt was him trying to kill time while they were working on Stu's IEM. I believe he ended up taking them out as Matt made a comment later and Stu motioned there was nothing in his ear to hear him.

 

Definitely a lot of drunk people. I was 3 rows back and I can't count the numbers of times I was pushed by people trying to get closer to the front or people pushing me further into my seat (I was end of the aisle) so when security walked by it looked like they belonged there. Had one guy if I thought he was a threat so he could move closer and I think security tossed him. Him and his girlfriend reeked of booze.

Edited by UnderdogsofBeing
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Guest Idioteque

Guest Idioteque

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I remember in an old Much Music documentary on MGB, Matt said LOTGA sold more in the smaller towns of BC than it did in Toronto. So I imagine that CD has a special place in alot of hearts on the west coast.

 

Alberta loves Rico, that joke writes itself.

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gursky

gursky

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I attended Calgary last night and had a chance to talk with NonPopulus at the VIP Experience and spoke to adam_777 before the start of the main show.  Thanks for being social and keeping me company at the show.  I went to the shows alone and it's nicer to talk to fellow Bored members than hunkering down in my seat using my phone.  Hope all who have gone to a few Alberta shows enjoy themselves in Edmonton, I'm bummed to miss a home town show but really appreciate being able to see a few during this week.

 

The setlist was identical to Red Deer and the band was in tighter form.  There were fewer breaks between songs, which made the show nearly 10 minutes shorter because of that.  I'm really glad I went to Red Deer on this tour, I may consider adding it to my itinerary on future tours so I can get a feel for how a smaller venue is compared to Edmonton/Calgary...plus more MG on a tour isn't a bad thing.

 

Red Deer was really relaxed compared to Calgary, and the audience was different too.  Like others have said, I had some people in my area who just came to socialize.  One group of guys talked through the whole show and during Running for Home someone told them to shut up.  All that chatter is barely noticeable on my recording but while listening live I felt like I had one or two conversations going on around me the whole time.  

 

Seeing the show for a second time gave me a chance to look at the rest of the band during the songs and the guitar transition during Born to Kill is so rad.  Stu switching out the slide guitar and then that leads to the climax of the song, is so awesome.  When the opening chords on Running for Home start I still get goosebumps, so it's safe to say that this song transitioned well from studio to live.  I can't believe that I got to hear such rarities played this week.  

 

The band commented that the streak for someone requesting Avalanche continued in Calgary.  Since they were experimenting with it during soundcheck it's possible that someone may get their wish at a future show.  

 

As for Albertan's shouting for Rico...it was definitely a hit here in the 90's, but I don't think it was the biggest one from Underdogs.  I thought all fans did that, so not only do I need to continue going to Red Deer on future tours I should consider a different province to hear what they request.  

 

And finally, you want to hear a song sample from Calgary?  Here you go, I Miss New Wave: https://soundcloud.com/sean-gursky/matthew-good-i-miss-new-wave-february-24-2017.

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MS_DOS

MS_DOS

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Alberta always seems to have its share of drunks at Matt's shows. Being that the show tonight is at a casino I hope it doesn't get too bad. I'll be taking some pics and video during the VIP and show tonight. Will try to have them up asap.

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Flinch

Flinch

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Alberta always seems to have its share of drunks at Matt's shows. Being that the show tonight is at a casino I hope it doesn't get too bad. I'll be taking some pics and video during the VIP and show tonight. Will try to have them up asap.

 

Saskatchewan and Toronto were the two places that stood out for me. Saskatchewan had the shoe incident and someone hucked a toy car at him.

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NonPopulus

NonPopulus

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It's kind of cool how that soundcheck doesn't give away the encore for tonight per se. My VIP instructions stated that the meeting time was 4 pm, and I didn't get any e-mail regarding time changes like the one in Calgary. So, I went an hour late. I still saw part of the soundcheck and got a group photo though. They played Failing the Rorschach Test "for the latecomers."

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MS_DOS

MS_DOS

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It's kind of cool how that soundcheck doesn't give away the encore for tonight per se. My VIP instructions stated that the meeting time was 4 pm, and I didn't get any e-mail regarding time changes like the one in Calgary. So, I went an hour late. I still saw part of the soundcheck and got a group photo though. They played Failing the Rorschach Test "for the latecomers."

My gf and I were in the same boat. Showed up around 350 thinking we were early and turns out the soundcheck was almost over. Oh well, got enough of it to justify the VIP tickets.

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