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2017 tour reviews

By foats, in Matthew Good

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Konez

Konez

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Besides the drunks and people talking throughout the concert. I manage to enjoy the night in Calgary. I dont get why people attend concerts if they are just going to chat and all that. Just stay your ass at home and listen to a CD and get drunk there.... Oh and Matt and the band were great. It was beautiful hearing the entire album. I hope he releases Running For Home at some point! 

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NonPopulus

NonPopulus

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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.

 

Thanks for keeping me company while our car was fixed. There's never really a dull moment. I appreciated your perspective on attending multiple shows and ensuring that they're preserved for posterity. I didn't quite connect the dots when I was trying to explain my outlook on those recordings by talking about the letter found in the Library and Archives of Canada. What I meant to explain is that it's nice to revisit certain moments in time, especially your own personal history. Since these shows are little highlights in a life well-lived, they form a part of that history. Even for shows that one doesn't personally witness, the alteration in setlists, how shows flow, and how songs come together live (performance, structure, etc.) make it a really commendable endeavour, like a documentarian or archivist. Comparing shows from different dates over the length of a tour shed light on the evolution of the performance in its entirety. Also, always great to meet other fans from the Bored. Thanks, gursky.

 

On this tour, I had the opportunity to see the Red Deer, Calgary, and Edmonton Shows. I'm really glad I decided to go to Red Deer this time. That show was unique, because of the size of the venue, the crowd, and the band's, but especially Matt's, interaction with the crowd. As far as I could tell, the entire audience was standing for nearly the entire show after being encouraged to do so during Hello Time Bomb. Everyone stayed engaged.

 

In Calgary, my seats were to the right of the stage. I think that this was the first time I've watched the band play from that angle. However, from where I was, the kick and the bass seemed overly present in the mix. It could be the acoustics of the casino event centre venues used in Calgary and Edmonton. Luckily, I think people on the Bored know these songs well enough to fill in the gap if the acoustics of the venue keep the mix from being pristine. The show had its many interesting live moments, such as Matt's mic failing during Let's Get It On, Stu's difficulty with the monitors, and the issue with the guitar during the intro of Weapon. I was pleased that a lot of the crowd was standing for the Calgary show as well. During the Chaotic Neutral tour, my friends and I got shouted down for standing. As mentioned above, some of the people that the bigger city shows draw don't always seem to be the most dedicated to enjoying the rock performance occurring right in front of them.

 

Edmonton was pretty good as well. Nearly as straightforward as Calgary, without much of the technical troubles. A little more banter. I went to the show with my fiancee and one of her friends who is another dedicated fan of Matt's music, and this time our seats were near the front right in the center, I enjoyed Failing the Rorschach test more and more each time I saw it live. I was lucky, because I managed to catch the performance during soundcheck. Matt is nailing those high notes during the bridge into the outro. Honestly, I have to say that I found the e-mail mix-up with the VIP experience start time frustrating. Sometimes, the merch table will be selling unique items that get bought up before the doors open to the general public. I had intended to pick something up like that (a drumhead, etc.) if possible to commemorate this special tour, but I couldn't, because I was an hour late due to the misdirection in the e-mail. I didn't do it in Calgary, because I live in Edmonton, so there would have been less of a chance that it would have been roughed up on the way back home. Lo and behold, I'm pretty sure I saw at least one in someone else's hands. I know that it isn't Matt's fault, and it wasn't the tour staff either. They were all really awesome, and good on the band for adding another song to the soundcheck for those who arrived late. I quickly got over myself and realized that life is still as good as it ever has been. I bought lots of other stuff along the way, and I'm glad to do so if it contributes to the continuation of a musician's career.

 

I hope that some of these Beautiful Midnight songs can be used in future album tour setlists. How about subbing Strange Days for Apparitions every now and then? Failing the Rorschach Test might be nice in that encore opener position in the future. All in all, I'm glad Matt decided to pursue the idea of performing an album in its entirety and I'm doubly glad it was this one.

Edited by NonPopulus
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Guest girl

Guest girl

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NonPopulus, do you want the drumhead that I got at the Edmonton VIP? I can give it to you at face value: $80. I ended up spending way to much on this tour. I only intended to buy a poster but ended up buying extra stuff I don't need like the drumhead and beanie. I am still in Edmonton at the River Cree Resort and Casino and am leaving at about 11 am for Calgary, so you better act fast if you want it. haha

 


Edited by girl
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MS_DOS

MS_DOS

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Edited together a couple videos from both the soundcheck and the show. Apologies for the shakiness, didn't realize that I had digital video stabilization turned on.

 

Can also find some pictures from both the soundcheck and the show here, as well as the raw video files. https://1drv.ms/f/s!AjUAT_8QMCksj7pz4EChrPbRpmg1sQ

 

 

 

 

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Prairieboy

Prairieboy

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Yeah we had a blast! We may have been right up by the railing ;) Crowd was great this time...seemed to be mainly true fans up front - lots of crowd singing, no pushing/shoving/drunkenness. Stu handed my wife his guitar pick mid-concert and we got the set list sheet too! Band was super-tight and had great energy. Oh and Matt said something to the crowd like "how are you people not made of leather out here?" in reference to the bitter cold outside last night lol.

 

Matt came out and sang in the crowd during Let's Get It On...has he done that in previous shows this tour? (I remember he did it during the CN tour).

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adam_777

adam_777

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The Saskatoon show was absolutely awesome. Probably my second favourite of the ten shows ive seen thus far. The band had none of the technical issues that were present at the Alberta shows I saw and just seemed on fire. I'd heard in the past Sask crowds could be rowdy and with this being the third show in as many nights with many miles in between I wasnt expecting such a fiery performance. Awesome all round and I really enjoyed that venue. Crowd was totally into it. Although during Born to Kill and Running For Home there was quite a bit of chatter. Besides that an awesome night

Edited by adam_777
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Prairieboy

Prairieboy

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The Saskatoon show was absolutely awesome. Probably my second favourite of the ten shows ive seen thus far. The band had none of the technical issues that were present at the Alberta shows I saw and just seemed on fire. I'd heard in the past Sask crowds could be rowdy and with this being the third show in as many nights with many miles in between I wasnt expecting such a fiery performance. Awesome all round and I really enjoyed that venue. Crowd was totally into it. Although during Born to Kill and Running For Home there was quite a bit of chatter. Besides that an awesome night

Stu's steel guitar and IEM crapped out at the start of Born to Kill, and Matt said "something's not right" with his guitar after Decades, but other than that everything seemed to go well.

 

But it was a very good show...makes me feel good about skipping Calgary in the future and going back to this venue in Saskatoon again. The Jack Singer Hall in Calgary has great acoustics - the Grey Eagle Casino show lounge (or whatever it's called) not so much. Third time we've seen MG at this Saskatoon venue and by far the best show of them all.

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adam_777

adam_777

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Stu's steel guitar and IEM crapped out at the start of Born to Kill, and Matt said "something's not right" with his guitar after Decades, but other than that everything seemed to go well.

 

But it was a very good show...makes me feel good about skipping Calgary in the future and going back to this venue in Saskatoon again. The Jack Singer Hall in Calgary has great acoustics - the Grey Eagle Casino show lounge (or whatever it's called) not so much. Third time we've seen MG at this Saskatoon venue and by far the best show of them all.

Yes it did I forgot about that. I was perplexed by Matt's comments about Decades though. Having heard it several times now I didnt pick up anything unusual about it. I'll have to do some comparisons with my recordings to see if I can pick it out

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Guest girl

Guest girl

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 I hope you had a great time at the shows this time around.

 

Likewise. I did. They were, by far, the most memorable and enjoyable Matthew Good concerts I have ever attended since my first MGB concert in 2001.

 

Thanks to Matt, Blake, Stu, and Peter for putting on a great concert tour and VIP soundcheck.

And a special shout-out goes to Stu during the Edmonton concert. He really made an effort to engage the crowd on the far left-hand side of the stage by urging us all to stand. He also did a little guitar solo at the edge of the stairs while facing our section. That was an awesome gesture on his part and didn't go unnoticed.

 

Nice pictures, Prairieboy.

Edited by girl
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russic

russic

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I'd like to single Blake out for being awesome after the Calgary show. I attempted to get my Lo-Fi B-Sides autographed but ultimately the elements had their way with me and I had to bail (I was also the DD, so I couldn't leave my friends hanging for too long). While I didn't see Matt, I did chat with Blake and he was super kind and great to talk to. 

 

The show – as others have mentioned – was just fantasy camp for Matt Good fans. Technical issues happen all the time, and I didn't feel they detracted at all from the experience. I found the crowd to be both hyper-engaged and annoying. I guess those two things can easily go together. I was near the front, so while I got an awesome view, I was also situated next to the hoards of drunk people trying to migrate to the front of the stage and stand in the aisle. It's funny to hear about the over-bearing security in Vancouver in contrast to the Calgary security that just looked overwhelmed. They spent a lot of the night practically begging people to go back to their seats. Wildly distracting, but there's not much you can do about it. 

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Sly Botts

Sly Botts

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Thanks for the updates on the shows here guys, I'm really excited to see this tour. I never got to see Matt live until 2005.  So having the chance to hear BM in it's entirety like they were when they were touring back when I was in high school, is almost like a dream come true or a big treat.  I never thought I would ever get the chance to see this!

Edited by Sly Botts
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Guest jjazz

Guest jjazz

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Forget anything I ever said about any of Matt's guitarists over the years. Stage presence, style, proficiency, anything at all.

 

It's all about Stu. Ever since the CN tour I realized how unappreciative I've been of him. His playing really has so much character, and has created such an identidy over the years, it's really prevalent in the newer material. Even on the recordings. And that's in no way a bad thing.

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