By Matthew Hong

Last night was my 8^th time seeing Matthew Good (Spanning 11 years too) and while it may have not been one of my favourite of his concerts it was still really enjoyable.

First off, I do not think it would be right if I didn’t mention Mother Mother, the stellar group that opened for Matthew Good. It seemed there were just as many people in the audience who attended the show for them than Matthew Good. I’m quite thankful that I showed up to the concert on time and caught their set. I was taken aback by their stage presence and their poppy blend of rock. They remind me of a more straight forward version of The Dirty Projectors and I was so enamored after their set that I bought their latest album “Touch Up”.

In a review of their recent Saskatoon show it was written that “(Mother Mother) were awesome, and they’ll be huge in no time. Maybe Matt Good can open for them at Rexall in two years”. Matt Good responded with “I’d be honoured to open for them, if they asked”. Mother Mother does seem like a band that will gain a bigger audience and their 30 minute set I, along with many others, were clamouring for more.

This brings us to Matthew Good’s set which was mostly comprised of tracks off of his new album “Vancouver”. He opened the night off with one of my favourite tracks from the new album, the epic “The Boy Who Could Explode and then played three of his biggest hits: “Load Me Up” (Which featured a little bit of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”), “Hello Time Bomb” and “Born Losers” off “Hospital Music”.

As the show progressed we were blessed with one of Matthew Good’s rants. Now I know some in the audience grew tired of this after 5 minutes but the guy is hilarious and any conversation that spans topics such as the moving floor in Jamiroquai’s “Virtual Insanity” and Bono’s special cowboy hat are worth sitting through. After the rant, Good play the most well written song off of his newest album “The Vancouver National Anthem” which is about the city’s problems with poverty and the homeless. Listen closing to the lyrics if you haven’t already, they are pretty depressing but poignant. This was followed by Good’s breakthrough single “Apparitions” and the main part of the set was closed off by “Weapon”.

After a hearty applause the band ripped through “A Silent Army In The Trees” and closed the night with the epic and rousing “Giant”. Overall it was a really enjoyable show; I got to hear all of the new songs off of Vancouver that I really like. And even though many of the older tracks that were played were the Good’s “Radio” singles I was still left a very happy customer.

Out of all of the band that I enjoy and listen to the one it seems that I have to defend the most is Matthew Good. Many of my friends think of him as only a “singles” artist and is an asshole. While I can see where my friends are coming from at some points its hard to deny he has a great voice and great songwriting abilities. One of my friends who is a fan summed it up perfectly when he said and I’m paraphrasing here: “He’s not really an asshole it’s more righteous indignation”.

Full setlist below:

The Boy Who Could Explode
Great Whales Of The Sea
Load Me Up
Hello Time Bomb
Born Losers
Us Remains Impossible
Last Parade
Empty’s Theme Park
The Vancouver National Anthem
Apparitions
Weapon

Encore:
A Silent Army In The Trees