Alternate title: He shut up and he sang
Those who know of Matthew Good, either through his live performance or his blog, know a few things about him. First, he is brutally honest. Honest of the wears-his-heart-on-the-sleeve variety. Honest to the point of alienating, at times, his (so-called) fans. Even this one, back when I didn’t fully appreciate how hard a thing it is to do.
He is passionate, brooding, and at times, infuriating. And it’s why I think his true fans love him.
Now, I don’t profess to actually knowing the man (note the emphasis in the opening sentence of this post), and certainly have no special or personal insights. But I do believe that I’ve learned a thing or two that I hadn’t fully appreciated until yesterday’s performance at Virgin, in Calgary.
I think, for example (based on nothing more than having seen him perform over a dozen times), that he’s neglected his inner rocker. I don’t know if it was pure joy on his part, but it was a joy to watch him rock out, right from the first bars of Giant.
Yesterday he tore up stage, and left no prisoners. In a phrase, he shut up and he sang.
Those are provocative words, “shut up and sing”. Matt’s is a stage for more – far more – than just the song. It, along with the blog, is a stage from which to educate, highlight, and occasionally scold. But he gets a negative enough reaction via both media that I sometimes wonder why he persists.
It is, as I’ve come to appreciate, innate to his personality.
Last night, he read the crowd, lowered his chin in determination, and forwent the screed. And in so doing, bridged metrosexual indie sound of Stars and the emo folk of Dallas Green (both excellent, but soft sounding) and the harder, edgier sounds of the Hip.
It was, as they say, the perfect segue.
Having said that, it is one of the two things I missed about Matt in this (a festival) setting. I suspect he feels like he gave something up in performance. “This isn’t the place to talk, so I’ll just shut my face and fuckin’ sing”.
This was very much a shut up and sing the hits kind of performance, and that’s the other thing I missed. (Take a look at the set list, as best I can remember it, at the bottom of this post.) None of the “non-commercial”, less well known stuff (save for one). For those who knew the old MGB (which, I admit, might have been most of the crowd, this being a festival after all) it must have been awesome.
For someone like me, who hasn’t seen Matt rock out for a while, it was fun, too. At least for the first few songs. After that, the crowd got a bit stupid, and it seemed to rub off on him.
But hey… beggars and crumbs, and all that. Any opportunity is a chance to see some brilliance is a worthy one. And for Virgin, that brilliance manifested itself in a performance of of Black Helicopters.
Worth the price of admission all by itself.
Matt, I feel for you. Damned if you do, damned further if you do. I don’t envy your station, and the choices you have to make. But for what it’s worth, I don’t think festivals are your venue. Don’t get me wrong – I love the rockin’ almost as much as you solo. But if the rockin’ isn’t doing it for you anymore, then it’s truly time to move on.
I’ve got to be honest with you all… my first impressions of the concert were just dandy. Too many hits, perhaps, but a fine performance. It’s in the retrospect that I suspect that something was missing.
But damn if that wasn’t a fine version of Helicopters. Definitely worth the price.
And now, a special note to Matt:
Sir: I seriously want to photograph one of your concerts. No, I’m serious (stop laughing). Go ahead, and take a look at some of my stuff. You’re there too. I’m not asking much: I buy my own tix, I’d just like the chance to be back stage. Drop me a line – calgary.ted at gmail.com
Looking forward to hearing from you. 🙂
Set List – Calgary
Giant
Hello Time Bomb
Everything is Automatic
Born Losers
The Devil’s in Your Details
Alert Status Red
Load Me Up
Put Out Your Lights
I’m A Window
Black Helicopter
Apparitions
Weapon