Why 2013 Kicked Ass

This is not a "best of" list by any means.  You're tired of those.  I'm tired of those.  Trust me, writing them is just as boring as reading them.  No, my friends, this is simply a recap of why 2013 totally kicked ass.  And believe me, it did.  

I started out 2013 by seeing Matchbox Twenty at the Palace Theater in Louisville.  While this wasn't exactly a mind blowing show for me like the ones that would follow later in the year, it was very cool to finally see the MB20 guys live.  I've been a fan since they released their first album, Yourself or Someone Like You, in 1996 and it's always cool when you're finally in a room with people you've been a fan of for that long.

Then came a couple new releases from one of my all-time faves, Ryan Schmidt.  So far we just have two singles from his up coming album, but I'm super excited about the new direction he's taking.  In looking back, I've just realized that I've only told you about "Another Friend" but there is also "Next Mistake" (I'll have to rave about that one later...I can't believe I haven't already!)  As much as I completely adore my birthday present that was White Horse (and believe me, I do), I know that the work Ryan is doing now is going to make him a megastar one day and that's so exciting.  I just can't wait to see what happens for him next. 

Later in August, Matt Nathanson released Last of the Great Pretenders which is an absolute stroke of genius. Of course he toured to support this record (and because I'm pretty sure he'd shrivel up and blow away if he didn't do at least a little touring every year) and, of course, we went to see him.  This time we got to see him right here in Louisville at Headliner's Music Hall and it was fucking amazing because, well, it was a Matt show and I got to watch Aaron Tap play guitar for 2 hours - what's not to love?  Then, by some weird twist of fate, Matt actually read that blog post, which lead to my all time favorite moment of the year, which was this tweet:

 

This was amazing because he actually read it, he got was I was saying, and it meant enough that he actually took a minute to say something about it.  It's been like 2 1/2 months ago and I still get a big stupid grin every time I read that tweet.  :-D

After that amazingness, we went to see Carbon Leaf for the first time ever at The High Watt in Nashville, TN while they were out supporting Ghost Dragon Attacks Castle and Constellation Prize (both really great records that have added to the fantastic soundtrack of 2013).  It was a great show and we even got to meet Barry and Terry after the show and got our copy of Ghost Dragon Attacks Castle signed.  The Carbon Leaf show was truly wonderful and we'll go see them again as soon and as often as possible.  While we were in Nashville we made time to stop at Grimey's, possibly the best record store east of the Mississippi, and I picked up a copy of Nevermind on vinyl while we were there.

We also got to see Dr. Dog again this year, this time at Headliner's in Louisville.  This tour was in support of their amazing newest release B-Room.  As usual, they completely blew my mind.  Any year that contains a Dr. Dog concert is a good year.  If you're not familiar with them, you really need to get that way, then you need to go see them live because they are the absolute epitome of what live music is supposed to be.

The last record that has made this year awesome for me was Jason Isbell's Southeastern. I'm still playing the shit out this thing, I just can't get enough of it.  His voice is perfect, the lyrics are perfect, the guitar parts are to die for.  The whole this is a complete work of art.  I've been directed to some other examples of his work and I plan to check them out as soon as I can tear myself away from this one.  And finally, the last thing that has made this year rock has been the community of Matt Nathanson fans on twitter.  I've found some awesome new people over the years through music, but have just recently met several cool folks just because of him and that's been fun.

Apparently a few amazing shows, a handful of mind blowing records and a small group of cool people are all it takes to make for a great year.  So, now that we know the formula, making 2014 even better should be a snap!

Matchbox 20 - The Palace Theater Louisville - 02/05/2013

 

 

Last night, in spite of it being tax season and in spite of my minimum hour requirement at work, I left early (a little after 6pm) and my Husband took me to see Matchbox 20 at The Palace Theater in Louisville, KY.  I've been an MB20 fan since the release of their first album, Yourself or Someone Like You, way back in 1996.  I graduated from high school and met my Husband that year, so Rob and the boys have been a part of the soundtrack of my entire adult life.  Somehow though, I have never seen them live.  It just never worked out for us.  Either they didn't come close enough to see, or I was broke or couldn't take off work or had school or whatever.  So when I found out they were playing right there in Louisville and at The Palace no less, I about flipped my lid.  I was a little less enthusiastic about the fact that it was a Tuesday night during tax season, but beggars can't be choosers, so I bought my tickets the minute they went on sale.  My Husband was just excited that we didn't have to stand in line for hours in the ass-freezing cold just to stand close to the stage (like we did when we saw Matt N. in Nashville in November, 2011...and in Louisville in February, 2012 when it was actually snowing).

 

Phillip Phillips opened for them.  He has a song on the radio, I think it's called "Home" but honestly, it's not really up my alley.  Work being what it is, I couldn't leave too early so by the time we ate dinner and found a place to park, it was halfway through his set.  While his style of music just isn't exactly my cup of tea, I thought he was a good performer.  He seemed very natural and comfortable on stage and I thought he did a really good set.   The crowd didn't seem too familiar with his music until he played the radio hit, then they went nuts, of course.  And he received an appropriate amount of cheering and applause at the end.

 

After a brief intermission, Matchbox Twenty took the stage.  I was so tickled to be in the same building with them after all these years that that alone pretty much made my night.  They brought the whole stage situation that they would use in a big arena - light show and all.  It's been a while since I saw a light show and honestly, it seemed a bit odd in that setting.  The Palace Theater in Louisville (pictured above) is a small venue.  It's a beautiful theater with a great sound system and comfy seats, but it doesn't really warrant a light show.  It's just not that big.  But whatever. 

 

Here's the set list:

Parade

How Far We've Come

Bent

Bright Lights

Unwell

Overjoyed

Put Your Hands Up

I Will

English Town

Stay with Me (sung by Kyle Cook)

Radio

The Way (sung by Kyle Cook)

Sleeping at the Wheel

She's So Mean

Long Day (which was cut with Jane Says)

The One I Love (R.E.M. cover)

3AM

Girl Like That

The hidden song at the end of More Than You Think You Are...not sure if it has a name

If You're Gone

Back 2 Good

Push

 

That's totally out of order except I know they opened with "Parade" and sent us out into the world with "Push".  They were on stage for about 2 hours and had really good energy and put on a great show.  I have to say, Paul Doucette was by far the hardest working person on the stage.  I was blown away by him.  Yes, yes, I'm aware that Rob Thomas is the front man and doing all the singing (except for the couple songs that Kyle Cook sang), but Paul was playing guitar and drums and piano and just seemed to be all over the place.  He was multi-tasking like a madman and didn't even seem to be tired.  It was nuts and really impressive.

 

They played a ton of stuff off the new record which was cool because I know those songs pretty well, but they also played enough old stuff to please the longtime fans.  Personally, I was glad they played so much older stuff because at least I don't feel like I totally missed out by not seeing them sooner.  They even played my theme song ("Long Day") which I was surprised and thrilled by.  It just lends a little something extra to get to see a song played live.  Especially songs you've loved for 17 years (good grief!!).   Overall, the night was pretty much what I had hoped for and could have only been better if we had been closer to the stage (although our seats were good enough to see the whites of their eyes, so that was pretty sweet).

Long Time, No Post

To say that I've been stuck in a musical rut lately would be a gross understatement.  I struggled with it at first; I wanted to write about new things and listen to new things.  After a while I realized that I was awash in so much new music that I wasn't really hearing anything, I was just grazing over it and moving on.  So much so that I lost the words to even tell you about the things I was listening to.  For instance I've had a draft of a review of Dr. Dog's Be the Void hanging around since April because I just can't seem to articulate it.  (Of course, that might be the record and not me causing that one.)

But now, I'm cool with it.  I'm really enjoying the albums that I've had in my collection for a while.  I'm really listening to them, getting inside them, consuming them and letting them consume me.  I'm letting them age like fine wines, like they should.  So much work, so much blood, sweat and tears go into making an album that it's not fair for us to spin it a few times, learn a few lyrics, and move on.  I'm listening to the same songs in their full on album form, mixed up in different play lists, and sometimes just on repeat.  However it sounds best at the time, but regardless, I'm not sweating looking for new stuff right now.

And, as it usually works, as soon as I chilled my new music search, a shit ton of new music has fallen into my lap.  As I mentioned previously (I think I posted about it already) Train released California 37.  That album is growing on me and steadily weaving its way into several play lists.  Now, Matchbox Twenty has released their first studio album in 10 years, North.  Well, technically the release date is tomorrow (September 4) but you can get it off iTunes already.  The first single "She's So Mean" is pretty good although they were a bit heavy handed on the autotune for me.  I love Rob Thomas' voice and I'd prefer to hear it a bit less adulterated.  I'll listen to the rest of the album tomorrow and see what I think.  Regardless, I've been waiting many, many years to see them live so I'm hoping to catch them on the North tour. 

In addition, ourvinyl.com released the September edition of Back of the Rack today.  I just downloaded that too and will be partaking of it in the weeks to come.  If you're interested in finding some new artists you can find the details of this month's Back of the Rack artists here. 

There is also word around the interwebs that Ryan Schmidt is working on his next album (!!) and Aaron Tap and Paula Kelley are back at work at Quail Top on something that will, without a doubt, be wonderful.  So that's exciting stuff.  Also, The New Complainers (formly the multi-syllabic Jon Palmer and The New Complainers) have some new tunes ready for us with a new album being released in October.  They have promised 3 new songs in the very new future and I, for one, cannot wait to hear what they've been up to.  You can find out more about them here, here, here, and here.

Matchbox Twenty - Yourself or Someone Like You

Album: Yourself or Someone Like You
Artist: Matchbox Twenty (or weren't they called "Matchbox 20" back then?)
Release: October 1, 1996

Yourself or Someone Like You, Matchbox Twenty's cleverly named debut album is one of my favorite albums of all time.  I can't remember when or where I got it, but it was pretty new at the time, so I must have picked it up right after my first semester in college.  I probably switched from Seven Mary Three's American Standard to this album and it has been a constant favorite ever since.

I'm not saying this is necessarily the best album Matchbox Twenty has ever made (I'm also not saying that it's not).  I'm sure they have grown and developed as artists and musicians over the years.  However for me, personally, I don't think it will ever get better than "Busted" and "Hang".  Not to mention, Rob's voice is my ears' equivalent of drinking hot tea.  Just smooth and warm and wonderful.  Has his vocal performance gotten even better over the years?  Probably.  Did it need to?  Nope, not a bit.

This is one of those few and far between records that I am totally into all the way through.  There is usually at least one song that I could take or leave, but I truly love the shit out of every single song on Yourself or Someone Like You.  Even "3 A.M." which I've listened to untold hundreds of times.  I read somewhere a long time ago that Rob Thomas wrote "3 A.M." about his mother being ill when he was young.  Even though I'm not 100% certain that's true, after having lost my own mom last year, this song still hits me in a whole new way.  It's a powerful song.

This album also contains "Long Day" which is pretty much my own personal anthem.  I mean, with lines like "I'm sorry 'bout the attitude I need to give when I'm with you, but no one else would take this shit from me", how can I not love this song?  (I'm sure my husband could attest to how well this song suits me as well) I could literally quote the entire thing and it would be applicable to me.  Love, love, love it.  Another one I feel a special kinship with is "Push", of course, now that I think about it, I'm not sure what that says about me exactly.

I own everything Matchbox Twenty has ever recorded and while it is all obviously quite good, Yourself or Someone Like You remains the best one for me.  It's not just the nostalgic quality of it that makes me love it.  There are no sharp edges on this record, the whole thing is smooth and comfortable like my favorite pair of jeans.  The guitars are dirty, the vocals are on the mark and the lyrics hit home perfectly.  I'm really excited about their upcoming new release (and hopefully the big fat tour that will go along with it!!) but no matter how awesome that one is, this one will always have a special place in my heart.