“I’m sorry about the attitude I need to give when I’m with you but no one else would take this shit from me.”
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| I think maybe this couple celebrating their 50th anniversary recently might still be "Overjoyed." |
Amanda and I find our
mezzanine seats with no trouble and settle in to await the show. We’re here to
see Matchbox Twenty. Opening is Phillip Phillips, a band I know only by its
lone hit, “Home,” which has seen fair radio play and some television commercial
exposure.
We arrived in Normal
well in advance of the 7:30 p.m. start to ensure parking and a dinner stop.
When we landed at Chipotle a few blocks from the Bone Student Center, I was
reminded that I ate at a Chipotle with my brother and his buddies back in 2006
when we went to a Springsteen concert at the John Paul Jones Arena in
Charlottesville, Virginia, back in 2006. One more and I’ll have a concert
tradition.
While stuck nearly in
the corner of the mezzanine at Braden (Row 11, seats 22 and 23, by the left
wall in Section E), we had a fairly close vantage point. Braden seats just
3,457 people; UVA’s Jones Arena seats 14,593. I relied heavily on
Jumbotron-style screens at Jones and found myself watching the Boss on a huge
TV more than live on stage. More irony. There are no screens in Braden; what
you see is what you get.
That challenged my
cheap dumbphone and Olympus digital camera, which has a rather limited optical
zoom. I suffered serious envy for the smartphone-wielding fans around us, who I
could see zooming in and recording amazing-looking video of my favorite songs.
I tried a couple of times with my camera, but it couldn’t handle the contrast
of a dark house and ultra-bright, flashing, flaring stage lighting. Guess I’ll
just have to make sure I can go again sometime when I’ve caught up with the
technology of the day.
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| Phillip Phillips |
Anyway, Phillips is a
great acoustic four-piece: two guitars, percussion, cello. I was blown away by
their beautiful sound, even if I was unfamiliar. And Phillip’s vocals were
frequently hard to understand, whether because of his style or the mix. But musically
they were stunning. The cello really made the difference. Alas, the only song I
recognized was their finale, “Home,” though it took a while to catch; there was
a wonderful instrumental intro that lasted nearly as long as the song itself.
Funniest
bit of the night came during preparation between Phillip Phillips and Matchbox
Twenty. As the crew cleared equipment and set up for the headliner, out came a
vacuum. I had no idea there was anything littering the floor to be sucked up.
Maybe Rob Thomas or Kyle Cook is a little OCD or a real neat freak and there’s
a clause in the band’s contract. I just thought it strange.
Note:
Take small bills for parking – or don’t. I handed the attendant a $20 for the
$6 parking fee and she asked if I had anything smaller. I could see she had a
couple of fives and a couple of singles, but thought she might have a third
five and could make change if I gave her a single in addition to the $20. I
mentioned the dollar bill and handed it over. She asked again if I had anything
else. I had one other single, but I replied no, figuring she was looking for a
$5 or $10.
Exasperated,
she hands back my $20 with a, “Dollar parking for you,” and waved me past. Hey,
sorry. But, sweet!
Matchbox
finally hit the stage about 8:40 or so and I nearly cried. I haven’t seen a lot
of concerts, let alone a favorite band, and I was pretty emotional at the
experience. Allow me to veer from traditional narrative here and try something
different. I’ll give you the set list with some “liner notes” to fill out the
story.
Parade
– I was a little surprised, but not disappointed, that they started with track
1 from the new album, “North.” This is the North Tour after all.
Disease
– I was pretty excited that they immediately reached back in the catalog for
some older stuff.
Rob
Thomas: “I wanna say thank you to Phillip Phillips for being so fuckin’
awesome.”
I’ve
heard him mention his proclivity for profanity in a concert video on YouTube
and I rather dig the F-bomb, so I was happy.
He
went on to promise a great show, but added some self-deprecating remarks,
finishing with, “We’ll be the best ‘tonight’ you could have.”
Girl
Like That
If
You’re Gone
Overjoyed
All
Your Reasons
Rob
Thomas: We’re going all the way, all the way, all the way back.”
Long
Day – During a cool instrumental intermission Rob launched into the
traditional band intros.
Rob
Thomas: “Not to totally play favorites, but this next song is probably one of
my favorites off the new album. It’s called I
Will.”
Unwell
Radio
– “I’m of a certain age,” Rob began, explaining the process of making a mix
tape from the radio, as those of us in their late 30s and beyond will recall.
As he was talking about making that tape for your first date with “Jenny,” a
quick clip of “Baby Come Back” blasted over the PA. “Then you had the second
side in case you might get lucky. The first side was all ‘Baby Come Back,’ the
other side was all Marvin Gaye.” Gotta love it.
After
a brief dalliance with Rod Stewart’s Stay With Me…
So
Sad So Lonely
It
was toward the end of So Sad So Lonely that Kyle wandered
over to stage left and laid into a burning groove of a solo, something I’ve not
seen in any of the videos I’ve watched. Rob leans down to some folks in the VIP
seating (the orchestra pit) and takes someone’s phone and begins filming Kyle
from all angles, including prone on the floor, looking up at his lead
guitarist. Then he got in the frame, too, before finally handing the phone
back. How freakin’ cool would that be!
English
Town
Rob
moves to the grand piano.
The
Way
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| Pretty sure this was during Bright Lights. |
Bright
Lights – Again Kyle finishes with a blazing solo. He is a pretty
awesome guitar player.
Sleeping
at the Wheel – After those first couple songs and Overjoyed, this one,
too, creates a stir of emotion in me.
Rob
Thomas: “Thank you, Normal. We love you!”
And
off they trot.
Of
course, there is an encore. Gotta have an encore. Pity the band that doesn’t
come back for an encore. They played four. Hallelujah!
Put
Your Hands Up – Another from the new album. It launched with a funky electronic
opening that had me guessing.
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| Back 2 Good during the encore. |
Rob
Thomas: “I grew up in the South,” he says, explaining that he listened to
grizzled old guys like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. “And they all had songs
about cheatin’ on their albums. Now, I’m not tellin’ you this because I condone
it, but because… shit happens. And when it does, somebody should be there to
write about it. This is my favorite of our cheatin’ songs. It’s called Back
2 Good.”
Rob:
“… This is the song of our childhood. Check it out”:
The
One I Love – The band played the R.E.M. classic, which I had to explain to Amanda; she'd not heard it before. Or at least didn't remember it.
Push
– Rob somehow dedicated this finale from the bottom of their hearts to us. Not
sure I get that. I always thought this sounded like a song of abuse or
something.
