It's no secret: I love Matthew Good. His music has been part of my life for a long time, and I've seen him live half a dozen times. His music just knows how to cut me and make me bleed from my insides out. It even inspired my last tattoo. There's just something about it...
Good's latest album "Arrows of Desire" was released on September 24. This is his sixth solo studio album, since Matthew Good Band was disbanded.
His previous album "Lights of Endangered Species" was very experimental. I know many die hard Matthew Good fans that did not like that album. In my case, I really enjoyed the album and thought it was quite a breakthrough for Good. The album included a lot more instrumental and orchestral elements to it, and the structure of the songs was a bit different than his other albums. To me, it was refreshing and very creative.
Overall, "Arrows of Desire" is a really good album. The sound is very
reminiscent of Matthew Good back in the early 2000's. Matt Good fans who did not like "Lights of Endangered Species" will most likely love this album. It screams classic Matthew Good.
For me, a few songs mostly stand out in "Arrows of Desire", mostly "Garden of Knives", "Guns of Carolina" and "Via Dolorosa".
In my books, Matthew Good can do no wrong. I'll be a fan of his forever. Did you get your hands on "Arrows of Desire"? What's your favourite song off the album?
Check out the video below for the song "Guns of Carolina". Enjoy!
Friday night was a beautiful day. The weather was perfect for an evening at Bluesfest. First thing we did when we arrived to Lebreton Flats was head over to the River stage to catch Loon Choir. The Ottawa group has been making waves in the city, especially within the last year. I've seen them perform a handful of times, and they are great. I was lucky enough to interview the band for a piece I wrote for Couch Assassin last Winter.
Me, G & our lovely nieces at the River Stage
My main reason for attending Bluesfest that night was to check out Matthew Good. Those who follow my blog know how much I love Matt Good. I've seen him live probably close to 8 times (so far...), and his music has played a huge role in my life. One of his live shows even inspired me to get a huge tattoo last summer.
His setlist was almost exactly the same as his performance at Bluesfest in 2010 but I didn't care. One song I did not expect to hear was "Non Populous" from his last album "Lights of Endangered Species". Such a beautiful song, and it lasts over 8 minutes. He also played two new songs that he released on his website last May. His new album "Arrows of Desire" will be released on September 24th. I can't wait! You can check out my French review of the show here.
After Matt Good, my partner and I met up with a friend of mine and her two adorable kids. We walked around Bluesfest, and made our way to the River Stage, where the little one danced to the music of TJ Wheeler and Friends. Adorable!
Great Big Sea was the big headliner of the evening. However, I wasn't interested in seeing them play so we went to the Barney Danson Theatre to check out Trampled Under Foot. I'm so happy we did.
These three siblings are from Kansas City, and play straight up blues and rock music. They are phenomenal! Seriously... The sister, who plays bass and guitar, has an amazing voice and great stage presence. The two brothers (one plays guitar, the other the drums) are also talented as well. I really love the idea of sibblings playing music together. Also, their band name is based on a Led Zeppelin song. How badass is that! Check them out below.
2012 was a great year! I was lucky enough to catch some amazing shows. I hope you did too!
Seeing as 2012 is coming to an end, every music writer in the blogsphere is writing their list of top albums/songs/shows. So I thought that maybe I should do that too!
Just for fun, I've compiled my five favourite shows of 2012. Here's my top 5:
5) Passion Pit. The group released their sophomore album this year and played a couple of festival shows the summer (despite lead singer Michael Angelakos' struggle with his mental illness). Their show at Osheaga was fantastic! It was great, hearing the new material live. Although this wasn't my first time seeing the group in concert, I was beyond excited for this show. And it did not disappoint...
4) Grizzly Bear. This past September, I was able to see Grizzly Bear play at the famous Radio City Music Hall during my trip to NYC. The show was phenomenal! I didn't have high expectations and I was absolutely floored with the performance. Not only did the band sound great, the visuals definitely added a great element to the performance. So worth it! I was just a casual fan before this show; now, I have great appreciation and respect for this band.
3) Matthew Good. Yes, I am still a huge fan of Matthew Good. Yes, I've seen him live half a dozen times. Still, his last show was fantastic! I had seen him play at the NAC in October of 2011 and I was thrilled when he announced he would be playing an acoustic show at Ottawa Folkfest this past August. Only a few days after getting some of his lyrics tattooed on me, he performed a great show with an impressive setlist. Lots of crying ensued.
2) Patrick Watson. In 2012, I (finally) discovered Patrick Watson. Within a six-week period, I was able to see him live twice, once at the Ottawa Folkfest, once at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. I cannot even describe what his music means to me and how happy I am to have discovered his beautiful words. This man knows how to bare his soul in his music, it's so amazing to experience it. Also, it definitely helps that Mr. Watson is down to earth and a total goofball. It's hard not to love this guy!
1) Radiohead. This is by far the most epic show I've seen in 2012. Back in June, I was lucky enough to score tickets to see Radiohead in Montreal. Never in a million years did I ever think I would have the opportunity to catch this group in concert. And although I was only introduced to Radiohead in the last couple of years, I knew I could not miss this show. The setlist was phenomenal and included songs that I absolutely adore, including "Street Spirit", "Idiotheque", "How to Disappear Completely", "Everything in Its Right Place", "All I Need" and "Reckoner". The group had lots of energy and Thom Yorke was dancing up a storm on the stage. The sound completely invaded the Bell Centre and I was taken to a whole other place. For all these reasons, this show totally deserves my #1 spot, hands down.
What shows did you see in 2012? Which ones would make your top 5?
Let's hope that 2013 has a lot more amazing shows in store!
The Ottawa Folk Festival began last night on a high note. Although I've attended shows at Folkfest for the past two years, this year is the first time that I decided to get a full festival pass.
Day 1 had the best lineup of the festival, in my opinion. At the very least, it was the lineup that I was most excited to see.
Although my friend and I attempted to make it to Hog's Back Park to check out Matt Mays at 7pm, parking was nearly impossible to find. When we finally arrived, Matt Mays was ending his set. I wasn't bothered by this, seeing as I've seen Matt Mays before. However, we were right on time to catch the next act!
Matthew Good was the artist that I absolutely needed to see yesterday. Although it's been less than a year since the last time I've seen him live, he had announced that he would be playing a solo acoustic set. I was thrilled when I heard this news. During his "Hospital Music" tour, he played a solo acoustic set and it was the best Matt Good show I had seen so far.
This show did not disappoint! Matt played a great set and was unordinarily talkative and social with the audience, most likely as a result of alcohol intake. At one point, he referred to himself as a "Gin Snob" since the kind he was drinking was "cheap". At the beginning of the show, I was thinking that this might annoy me during the show. However, it was hard to be annoyed when he was playing such great material!
He performed acoustic versions of most of my favorite songs, including "Surburbia", "While We Were Hunting Rabbits", "Strange Days", "Avalanche" and "99% of Us is Failure". Unfortunately, he did not play any songs from his most recent album "Lights of Endangered Species", which I can understand would be challenging for him to do acoustically, seeing as there are so many instruments used in the album. He also didn't play anything from his album "Vancouver", which was a bit disappointing as well.
Overall, an amazing performance by Matt Good. Everyone in the audience seemed pleased, although I don't think that most of them knew that he was not playing with a full band. The most important thing is that I knew and was excited about it and my expectations were definitely met.
The headliner that evening was Ben Harper. I am a huge fan of his and I have seen him live twice at Bluesfest. When he began his set at Folkfest, I quickly realized that he would be playing solo as well, which I found very exciting.
During this set, Ben played many different instruments, including vibraphone, piano, ukulele and guitars, both electric and acoustic.
Ben played a lot of great songs from his older albums, including "Burn One Down", "Diamonds on the Inside", "Not Fire, Not Ice", "Forever", and "Walk Away".
At the end of his set, Ben shared with the crowd the story of when he met the late Jeff Buckley. As a tribute to him, he played a cover of "Hallelujah", which was absolutely raw and filled with so much emotion. I was brought to tears. By far the highlight of the night for me.
Overall, it was a really beautiful performance that felt quite intimate. I was very impressed and I really enjoyed it. However, it seemed like most of the crowd had left early and the few people who were still there during Ben Harper's performance were not interested in listening to his music, which is very unfortunate. Some people can't recognize talent/good music even when it's slapping them in the face.
Tonight is day 2 of Folkfest. Let's see how many shows I have the energy to catch!
One of my favourite artists is Matthew Good. His music speaks to me in so many ways and I have a lot of respect for him as an artist, a musician, an activist and a human being.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia.
The album "Avalanche" is one of my favourite albums of all time. Matthew Good's tour for this album was the first show that I saw after moving to Ottawa. Safe to say, it was quite a memorable show for me.
Last October, I went to see Matthew Good live, when he was touring for his new album, "Lights of Endangered Species". I believe this was my fifth or sixth time seeing a Matthew Good show.
The shows begins. It is pitch black; there are no lights. The piano begins...
"Buy in it'll shut you up. Try it, it should shut you up..."
He is playing "While We Were Hunting Rabbits". Instantely I start crying. I cannot believe this is happening.
"While We Were Hunting Rabbits" has been my favourite Matthew Good song since 2003. It's a beautiful song that just gets me every time I hear it. Never in a million years did I ever think I would get to hear this amazing song live. In addition, the piano version of this song was so raw and so beautiful. I was in heaven. Tears of happiness kept falling down my cheeks.
After that, I just knew. I knew I would get some of the song lyrics tattooed on me.
I approached my tattoo artist with the idea of the song lyrics and a lighthouse. I love lighthouses, because they remind me of home, and the Maritimes. Since my artist is quite busy, I had a few months to mentally prepare for this tattoo (and save some money).
This past Saturday, I visited my tattoo artist at her shop outside of Ottawa. Exactly as I was laying down so she could get started, Matthew Good Band starts playing on the speakers. This was a sign. I was meant to do this.
My tattoo, still in the healing process.
Done by Edith Fluet from Blue Blood Custom Tattoos
After five long and painful hours, my tattoo was done. I couldn't be happier with the end result.
***
Sometimes, it's easy to get lost and stray from our path. But if we look hard enough, there is always something or someone around that will lead us back to where we're supposed to go. That's what the lighthouse represents to me. Sometimes, I may feel like a ship lost at sea, but I always manage to find my way back.
This tattoo is a tribute to the amazing people in my life who have supported me and kept me on track. This tattoo is an hommage to Matthew Good, whose words have always left me inspired.
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In a few days, Matthew Good will be playing an acoustic set at the Ottawa Folk Festival. I am really looking forward to the show. Stay tuned!
