and the sky was angel dust

"Our lives in these empty spaces aside
I'm tired of walking around with my hand on my gun
I'm tired of watching them wind you up to see if you'll run
Tonight I'm going to go out and have me some fun
I'm tired of walking around here with my hand on my gun"

-Sort of a Protest Song-

The culmination of 10+ years of fanatical fandom came to a head this past weekend when I finally saw Matthew Good live at Call the Office in London, Ontario.

In a nutshell.....the show was awesome HAWESOME!

The venue was small, and the layout wasn't the best, but the six of us (myself, Tam, Kim, Steve, Terry and Terry's boyfriend) were able to get in relatively early and snag a few stools and table (of sorts). Steve and I decided to split a few pitchers of Canadian. I'm still belching the effects of that decision.


The opening act was Melissa McLelland, a singer/songwriter from the Toronto area. She had a great voice and some good songs. About half the club was chatting and barely paying attention as she performed. I picked up her CD after the show.

When Matt finally took the stage and started into Avalanche, I was blown away. Some artists sound really good recorded and are terrible live, and vice versa. Such was not the case with Matt. As he continued into his set, I just lost myself in the music, singing along. It was a great experience, because I've never met anyone who
was as big a Matthew Good fan as I am. You begin to think that maybe you're the only one, and no one else really "gets it" like you do. But all of a sudden I was transported into a place where I was surrounded by fans, many singing along, and it just felt right. I think this sort of communal experience is what makes live shows so great. Especially a smaller venue, acoustic show like this was, which I feel is directed at fans, and not just those who like the radio hits.

I was really happy as Matt played some of my favourites like Advertising on Police Cars, Generation X-Wing and Fated. There were also a couple of new songs, like When Hollywood Runs Out of Indians, Breath Of A Nation, Hopeless, She's In It For The Money, and Can't Get Shot In The Back If You Don't Run.


Oh yeah, and a duet of Hurt (NIN, Johnny Cash) with Melissa McLelland. One of my favourtie songs of all-time sung by my favourite artist. How cool is that?

Additionally, there was some good interaction with the crowd, such as when he displayed his Ann Coulter doll and presented some members of the audience with pages he ripped out of Paris Hilton's book. Surprisingly, there wasn't as much political commentary as I was expecting. But I guess that's what his blog is for. That night was for the music.

At the end of the day, it was a fantastic show, and well worth the price of admission at $25. I'd have paid 10 times that. I'll definitely be seeing him again next time I get the opportunity.