I fall down. You get up. Not a sound between us.

MG Show #25 - Monday September 17 - Matthew Good @ McPherson Playhouse, Victoria

Off to Victoria to catch MG Show #25 for me. I've been fortunate enough to catch Matt several times over the years without having to leave Vancouver...so I figured now would be a good time to venture out for a little change of scenery.

Tickets...check. Bag...check. Car with gas...check. Excitement...check.

Accident inside George Massey Tunnel on the way to the ferries...crap! It was a big one. I avoided an accident to get on the highway, but this would slow me down. Found out later that two semi-trailer trucks were involved with the accident inside the tunnel, which meant a lot of delays. I was stuck in traffic with nowhere to go, as with everyone else. 11am ferry sailing...not gonna happen. Thanks to the guys in Attack in Black for keeping me occupied during this long delay. Their cd is fantastic!




An hour and a half later and still no movement. We finally end up getting re-routed in a completely separate direction, where long lineups are waiting on every turn. Miss the 1pm ferry sailing but am able to catch the next one.

Fast forward a few hours and I'm finally in Victoria close to showtime.




Doors are now open and I walk inside the McPherson Playhouse and take my seat.

Dala come onstage and open. Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther comprise the duo from Toronto who met while in highschool music class. The play a solid blend of acoustic folk-pop filled with rich harmonies. Hockey Sweater and Marilyn Monroe were my two favourite tracks from them.



Matthew takes the stage at 8:30pm to the backing track of Girl Wedged Under The Front Of The Firebird being played and follows shortly with I Am Not Safer Than A Bank. It's the opening night of his two month solo acoustic tour that will take him across the entire country and back.



Champions Of Nothing plays and hits me like a ton of bricks. MG jokes about starting his own Victoria Tours and how members of the legislature voted themselves a pay raise before taking off for a summer break. City Hall is located right beside the venue and there were thoughts later on of whether some members were in attendance at the show.

Matt mentioned that Rod was supposed to do I'm A Window with him but had to stay in Vancouver for work. Just prior to 99% Of Us Is Failure, MG discusses that the song is for Rod's dad and one of Matt's friends battling cervical cancer.

Lots of jokes with the crowd on this opening night, many of them aimed at Pete doing lighting. Someone yells out for Matt to "play the cheerleader song" (Giant)...which MG responds by jokingly saying he'll play that one, followed by "the one with the clock" (Hello Time Bomb).



A performance of Avalanche washes over me, as does his powerful voice to Catastrophe and Prime Time. Matt goes into a story about the MGB days and how he somehow managed to smash 42 Fender Stratocasters onstage between 1997 - 2000. True Love Will Find You In The End plays out the main set.

Matt starts the encore off with a nicely reworked version of Suburbia, followed by Odette. He introduces Girl In The War to the crowd, then ends the 2hr set with The Fine Art Of Falling Apart.


SETLIST:

Girl Wedged Under The Front Of The Firebird
I Am Not Safer Than A Bank
Champions Of Nothing
Born Losers
Strange Days
Black Helicopter
She's In It For The Money
I'm A Window
99% of Us Is Failure
Avalanche
Metal Airplanes
In A World Called Catastrophe
Prime Time Deliverance
Generation X-Wing
Apparitions
True Love Will Find You In The End
------------------------------------
Suburbia
Odette
Girl In The War (Josh Ritter cover)
The Fine Art Of Falling Apart



***

MG Show #26 - Tuesday September 18 - Matthew Good @ McPherson Playhouse, Victoria



Spent the day around the harbour of downtown Victoria and had some nice Fish N Chips.




Back at the venue for night #2 in Victoria. Sheila and Amanda hit the stage once again and do a fantastic job warming up the crowd. Their harmonies remind me of Cherry Bomb, who were comprised of Jenny Galt and Vicky Sjohall.




Matt comes onstage and opens with North American For Life, then into Strange Days. He debuts a new song for us. I asked him after the show about the track and he said it's an unfinished song called Silent Army In The Trees.




Empty Road makes an appearance in the set tonight, as does Alert Status Red, and If I Was A Tidal Wave.




The reworked version of Pledge Of Allegiance is wonderful and I can completely feel it beating in my heart as I watch the show.




Matt performs a cover of Keep The Customer Satisfied by Simon and Garfunkel.




Suburbia and Fated close out the show. Matt really builds up the ending of Fated on this night...stretching his vocal part at the end a few bars longer.

Set lasted 1hr 55mins.




SETLIST:

North American For Life
Strange Days
Load Me Up
Silent Army In The Trees (new song)
Black Helicopter
Empty Road
I'm A Window
99% Of Us Is Failure
Born Losers
Odette
Prime Time Deliverance
Alert Status Red
She's In It For The Money
Pledge Of Allegiance
Apparitions
-----------------
Keep The Customer Satisfied (Simon and Garfunkel cover)
If I Was A Tidal Wave
Suburbia
Fated




Special thanks to MG, Mike from Bernie Breen, and Tim the tour manager for a very memorable night.

***

MG Show #27 - Thursday September 20 - Matthew Good @ Centre For Performing Arts

Hometown shows for Matt are always fun. The atmosphere is electric and unmatched. Walking through the venue and down the aisle to our seats, many familiar faces surface. Many of Matt's family and friends are also in attendance, which means Matt will try and be on his best behavior for the night.

Dala were in fine form again opening the evening. I'm enamored with Hockey Sweater.

Matthew takes the stage to Girl Wedged Under, followed into Load Me Up and Strange Days. He's dressed in a nice blazer for the show and drinking some red wine once again throughout it...though this time in a plastic cup.

MG takes some time to discuss to horrids of event parking prices, mentioning that he doesn't see any cut of the parking revenue. He also talks about the suburbs, joking about Whalley and Poco. At one point, Matt stopped to adjust his guitar strap...jokingly saying he was doing so not because it's really bothering him, but because it doesn't look good.



A personal introduction to She's In It For The Money leads into the moving song. The setlist for the evening was very well done and carefully chosen by Matt from beginning to end, telling an exceptionally moving story for his family, friends, and fans in attendance.

The biggest performance highlight for me for the evening was seeing Rod come out onstage and perform I'm A Window with Matt. Nothing can beat watching two best friends smiling together and giving it their all onstage. They were having the time of their lives up there. That solo was fantastic!



Symbolistic White Walls, 99% Of Us Is Failure, Avalanche, Odette and Prime Time grace the show. Apparitions finishes of the main set.

During the encore, Matt notices a few people are leaving their seats and heading towards the exit. He then says with a smile that "It's probably past the two hour mark cause people are taking off...and they're gonna miss this", then launches into Suburbia.

Matt comes back on for a second encore, delivering Metal Airplanes and Fated. He then stays for another two and hammers out a tearful version of The Fine Art Of Falling Apart, and closes the night with True Love Will Find You In The End.

Set lasted 2hrs 10mins.


SETLIST:

Girl Wedged Under The Front Of The Firebird
Load Me Up
Strange Days
Born Losers
Silent Army In The Trees
Black Helicopter
She's In It For The Money
I'm A Window (w/ Rod Bruno)
Symbolistic White Walls
99% Of Us Is Failure
Avalanche
Odette
Prime Time Deliverance
Keep The Customer Satisfied (Simon and Garfunkel cover)
Pledge Of Allegiance
Apparitions
---------------------
North American For Life
Champions Of Nothing
Suburbia
---------------------
Metal Airplanes
Fated
The Fine Art Of Falling Apart
True Love Will Find You In The End

I can hear my train coming...it's a lonesome and distant cry

Monday Septmeber 10 - Damien Rice @ Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto

I spent the day exploring parts of the city. Criminal Records is a really awesome store I came across that sells various indie band merch along with their assortment of cds and vinyl. In stock were many types of shirts and hoodies from artists such as Broken Social Scene, The Album Leaf, Grizzly Bear, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Neutral Milk Hotel, and countless others.



Rotate This seemed like a smaller version of Zulu Records, which also sells tickets to the various indie shows around the Toronto area.



Damien Rice was playing on this night at the newly renamed Sony Centre, formerly known as the Hummingbird Centre. Going into this, I didn't have a ticket in-hand prior and figured I would test my luck just before the sold out show. I walked up to the venue and was able to land a Row 5 ticket so inside I went to this new territory to me.

The interior halls of the venue reminded me of The Orpheum, with pictures of influential personalities and artists lining the walls upstairs. The concert was advertised as "An evening with", which meant there was no opener and Damien and company would come onstage as soon as the show started. After a bit of waiting, they took the stage and began the set with Rootless Tree.



The major set highlights for me were Amie, I Remember, and Coconut Skins...all three of which had some really crazy and drawn out jam sessions to end the songs. During Eskimo, there were balls of light surrounding the stage that resembled snowflakes. At one point, Damien unplugged his guitar, walked to the front of the stage without a mic, and sang The Blower's Daughter.

Damien was in a great mood the entire night, telling many stories and cracking an assortment of jokes throughout the performance. He mentioned that Childish is about singer/songwriters and "how they spend a lot of time up their own arse". He also told us the Mr. Penis story before playing The Professor, and recited a great story comparing a relationship he had to a can of peas. In addition, the Irish singer mentioned that after this tour, he was gonna take a break and won't be around for awhile.

The show was completely wonderful with Damien's charging and emotional lyrics, the beautifully arranged music, and the intimacy of the venue.

Set lasted 2hrs 5mins.

SETLIST:

Rootless Tree
Amie
Eskimo
Cannonball
I Remember / Bang Bang
9 Crimes
Childish
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (Flaming Lips cover by Vivienne Long)
The Blower's Daughter (unplugged)
Me, My Yoke and I
Grey Room
Coconut Skins
Woman Like a Man
-----------------
Accidental Babies
Volcano
The Professor & La Fille Danse
Cheers Darlin'

***

Tuesday September 11 - City and Colour @ Danforth Music Hall



I had a look around the venue once I was inside and explored many different angles, including the very top of the balcony, to check out the sightlines. For a venue that seats about 1100 people, the views are fantastic all-around.

Attack in Black opened the night. The Dine Alone Records label mates of Dallas played a fantastic upbeat set with catchy riffs and well placed harmonies. I was really impressed with their showing.




Dallas Green took the stage on this night for the first of a four night stand at the Danforth Music Hall. He was accompanied by Spencer and Dan from Attack in Black on bass and drums. They kicked things off with Forgive Me.

It was interesting to hear the songs reworked with a backing band. Hello I'm in Delaware featured some awesome harmonies between Dallas and Spencer. Dallas mentioned that he just finished recording the new City and Colour album the previous week and that it's scheduled for a release early next year. He previewed two new songs for us on this night...both of which were wonderful.

A couple songs into the set, Spencer and Dan left the stage and Dallas pulled up a chair to sit down and play a few songs solo. This included a solid performance of Day Old Hate and Confessions, along with a Neil Young cover of Cowgirl In The Sand and Boiled Frogs from the Alexisonfire catalogue.




The guys joined Mr. Green once again during Comin' Home and followed through until the encore. Dallas came back out for one more song after the break, playing a nicely reworked version of Save Your Scissors.

Throughout the performance, Dallas was his usual funny self.....as people would randomly yell stuff at him and he would throw it back and poke fun at the audience. He would also constantly joke around with Spencer and Dan in-between songs. You could tell that he was having a lot of fun up onstage.



Set lasted 1hr 20mins.


SETLIST:

Forgive Me
Sam Malone
Hello, I'm in Delaware
new song
Day Old Hate
Confessions
Cowgirl In The Sand (Neil Young cover)
Boiled Frogs
Comin' Home
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (The Band cover)
new song
Sometimes (I Wish)
----------------
Save Your Scissors

***

Wednesday September 12 - City and Colour @ Danforth Music Hall

Spent a few hours during the day exploring a bunch of vintage clothing stores and various other things around the city.



Back for night #2 with City and Colour. Casey Baker and the Buffalo Sinners opened on this night. Casey's Song by Dallas was named after Mr. Baker. You could tell the guys were a bit nervous playing to their largest crowd to date. They played a very brief set and had a few standout tracks. The drummer was lighting it up on the last song.

Dallas and co. played pretty much the same set as the night before...with the exception of the order switch between Delaware and one of the new songs. Once again, hearing the harmonies between Dallas and Spencer near the end of Delaware gave me shivers.



The crowd was a lot more rowdy on this night.....in part to a few bad apples ruining it for everyone else. You kinda lose the impact of a song when people are yelling during the slow, quiet parts.

Dallas of course did his best to joke with the crowd, stating he may have heard a cell phone ring during Day Old Hate...which he called a "rookie mistake". He also referred back to a comment made the previous night about Doritos.....and how a friend of a friend who was at the show heard about it and left Mr. Green a huge box of Doritos upon his arrival to the venue earlier in the day.



Other jokes were abound throughout the performance such as making fun of people in the audience who spend the show watching it behind their digital camera as they record footage to upload to youtube later. He also talked about making sure that people who take pics with their cell phone to turn off that clicking noise as it captures the picture.

Confessions was mentioned as a song written about the realization of being a jerk. As he played the new songs for us, Dallas stated that his new album is currently scheduled for a February release. He also noted the second of the new songs played as being called What Makes A Man.

Set lasted 1hr 20mins.


SETLIST:

Forgive Me
Sam Malone
new song
Hello, I'm in Delaware
Day Old Hate
Confessions
Cowgirl In The Sand (Neil Young cover)
Boiled Frogs
Comin' Home
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (The Band cover)
What Makes A Man (new song)
Sometimes (I Wish)
----------------
Save Your Scissors

***

Thursday September 13 - City and Colour @ Danforth Music Hall



Went and caught the anti-war documentary Body Of War at the Toronto International Film Fest. The film was gripping, insightful, and emotional. Ed Vedder wrote some music for the documentary.




The Danforth was littered with a few familiar faces, amongst many new ones. Attack in Black opened again this night, which meant double duty for Spencer and Dan. I must say they've been by favourite openers so far this year to date.



Sensible Heart makes an appearance in the setlist, replacing Confessions. Boiled Frogs sounded especially fantastic on this night.



Dallas' family and girlfriend were seated near me. When a few rowdy guys nearby started acting inappropriately, Leah did a good job of getting them silent. No more interruptions from them for the rest of the show. The crowd was more behaved overall this evening over the previous night and after Sometimes, the audience gave Dallas a solid standing ovation as we waited for the encore.

Set lasted 1hr 15mins. Not as much talking and interruptions from the crowd.



SETLIST:

Forgive Me
Sam Malone
new song
Hello, I'm in Delaware
Day Old Hate
Sensible Heart
Cowgirl In The Sand (Neil Young cover)
Boiled Frogs
Comin' Home
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (The Band cover)
What Makes A Man (new song)
Sometimes (I Wish)
----------------
Save Your Scissors

***

Friday September 14 - City and Colour @ Danforth Music Hall

Casey Baker and the Buffalo Sinners opened for the final night.



The City and Colour comedy show once again ensued with jokes on the crowd for filming the entire show and deflecting comments of love towards Mr. Green.



Dallas took the time to mention that Day Old Hate is about looking at yourself and realizing you're not as strong and that you can be a better person.



Set lasted 1hr 20mins. Same setlist as the previous night.

SETLIST:

Forgive Me
Sam Malone
new song
Hello, I'm in Delaware
Day Old Hate
Sensible Heart
Cowgirl In The Sand (Neil Young cover)
Boiled Frogs
Comin' Home
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (The Band cover)
What Makes A Man (new song)
Sometimes (I Wish)
----------------
Save Your Scissors


Five wonderful shows down in five fantastic days. Time to fly back to the other side of the country and hop on a ferry.