Load Me Up (1999)
"Load Me Up" was directed by Bill Morrison and produced by Paddy Gillen. It was the second video to be released off of Beautiful Midnight. The video is about a stalker Matthew Good once had.
The video opens with a surreal dream sequence in which the four band members are chased by dozens of private-school students through hallways and stairwells. They burst onto a rooftop and dive into a mirrored pool of water, only to be tackled one by one by their pursuers beneath the surface.
The chase continues on a rain-soaked soccer field, where a taunting student spits at Matthew Good. He charges back into the fray but quickly collapses under the onslaught. The dream abruptly ends when Good wakes in his bedroom to find the same girl standing over him, a large knife hidden behind her back, as the screen cuts to black.
The video was shot over three days across Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum, Pacific National Exhibition, Vancouver Aquatic Centre, and Saint George’s Private School (Dave Genn's old highschool). With an estimated budget of $150,000, it stands as the Matthew Good Band’s most expensive video production to date.
Upon its release, the video reached No. 1 on the MuchMusic Countdown for two consecutive weeks in March 2000. It earned five nominations at the 2000 MuchMusic Video Awards, winning Best Video and Best Rock Video, and was later nominated for Best Video at the 2001 Juno Awards.
Commentary
"'Load Me Up' not a big fan of that either, it kinda got away from us." - Matthew Good
