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matchbox 20
A Concert Review |
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| Rob Thomas |
I'll say it again, and probably will for every review I write for
matchbox 20, but I knew them when... I knew them when they were an
opening band with people in the crowd wondering just who they were;
I knew them when they were the headliner at a little bar called
Schuba's; I knew them when I loved their music before it was on the
radio; I knew them when Adam Gaynor had long hair; and I knew them
when Paul Doucette explained that his first car was a 1980 Datsun
B210, gray, and he loved it, "more than life itself." For
this review, I know the show they put on at the Aragon Ballroom in
Chicago, and I'm happy to have known them when, but happy to see
them, knowing them now.
Every time I get to see matchbox 20, they get just a little more
popular. What the hell am I talking about, "A little more
popular?"
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| Kyle Cook |
Their rise to a major headliner on the music and concert scene has
been pretty much incredible, seeing that all I ever seem to read
about them is how their music is, well, not the hippist thing on a
cool critic's playlist. Hip or not, it has captured fans across the
board, and the show at the Aragon is no exception. You had young
girlies - decked out with sprarklies on their faces; You had older
girlies - decked out with, well, let's just say the young girlies
haven't developed them yet; You had dudes, in a variety of age
groups - either there because they liked the band, or maybe because
their girlfriend wanted to go and they were worried about losing
their chick to a dude who liked the band; You had parents, who
brought their kids, but still knew some of the songs. And you had
matchbox 20, putting on the best show I have seen yet.
It appears to me that the dudes of matchbox 20 are finally coming
into their own. Why do I say that? Well, the previous times I've
seen them there still seemed to be some hesitation from them,
especially lead singer, Rob Thomas, about trying to get in touch
with the crowd. This time, though, everyone came through - Rob was
talking to the crowd, singing for the crowd, playing for the crowd,
and connecting on every cylinder with every fan who was there. Then
there were the rest of the boys, Adam Gaynor on rhythm guitar and
Kyle Cook on lead guitar - posing with the best of them, smiling at
the girls in the front, and playing their hearts out. Of course
Brian Yale, the bass dude, seemed to
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| Adam Gaynor |
be all over the stage, bouncing from Adam to Kyle, back, and forth,
and just having fun. And, again, poor Paul Doucette, stuck behind
his drum set, but still pounding and smiling. It was good, really
good, to see everyone up there having so much fun, and it really
extended out into the audience for every song.
And speaking of songs, I really, really, really, really (did I
say "really" enough yet?) wish the boys would hit the
recording studio. Don't get me wrong, I still love every song from
"Yourself or Someone Like You," and from the response of
the crowd, they do too, but for me, I'm really looking for new
stuff, like the way cool new stuff they play during their show.
Still high energy, still kick-ass vocals, but dammit, I don't know
the words, and that really sucks when I'm trying to sing along. But,
they did do a couple of new songs, well, not really knew, a couple
of covers, that I did know the words, and, well, the cover of
"Mercy, Mercy Me" from, hmm, I believe Marvin Gaye, was a
huge surprise, and the "Time After Time" cover, where Rob
was doing the solo-acoustic thing, was very
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| Rob again. |
cool, especially when Gordon Vaughn, the lead singer from Cool for
August, came out to help a little with the vocals.
It's really cool to see the dudes of matchbox 20 continuing to
grow and impress me as a band. It seems like yesterday I was at
Schuba's, seeing them with a hundred-ish people, where their biggest
concerns seemed to be if anyone was going to show up and how they
could keep their bus. That doesn't seem to be a problem now. The
problem now is more that they're playing a venue too small for
everyone to come and see them. Most bands only dream they had such
problems.
In any case, the show was awesome, and they did mix in a few new
things to make it different from all the rest of them that I have
seen - what more needs to be said? TWO HUGEMOUNGOUS THUMBS UP for
matchbox 20. Keep up the good work - and come back soon - Chicago
loves you.
That's it for this one, I'm The Dude on the Right!! L8R!! |
