Matthew “not so” Good @ Club Soda – May 30th

Posted on May 31, 2008

I’m not sure what went through my mind when I signed up to review Matthew Good at Club Soda on May 30th. Maybe it’s because somewhere in my mind still lives a naive 12 year old girl who didn’t see all her favorite stars. Matthew Good band was one of the biggest bands of the 90s, but hasn’t really found a way to renew itself into a great solo act.

Before heading down to the show, I refreshed my memory and reminded myself of what made me like this band back in the day. I thought he had a good voice, but live, it becomes insistent, irritating and obnoxious. I thought his songs were catchy but he just sounds like any contemporary rock band that plays on those loud radio stations for 30-40 year olds. I also thought he was hot, but then h shows up wearing a loose fitting grey Habs t-shirt. Nice gesture, but not so sexy.

He played songs off his new album, Hospital Music as well as some old hits like Hello Time Bomb. The old songs didn’t sound any better, nor did they sound as good as they did back in the day. It’s not that he’s a bad musician, I just really didn’t like it: the music sounded tired and middle-aged, even though Mr. Good isn’t quite there yet.

I’ll give that to him though: the crowd was extremely enthusiastic and the club was completely full. Even though he didn’t live up to my expectations, he certainly did to theirs.