Photographs by Lee-Ann Wylie
Emblem/Atlantic recording group Matchbox 20 and Warner Bros recording group Goo Goo Dolls performed together at London’s Budweiser Gardens on Sunday August 25th, 2013, at the tail end of this North American tour. These two bands were no stranger to mid-90’s radio so it makes sense they have been paired together.
Matchbox 20 started the evening off with the lights out and a black and white skit of an old circus announcer on the screen introducing the band. Like the Goo Goo Dolls they hit the stage with the same charisma! Good looking singer, who the ladies were oohing and ahhing about, and a band that was strong, tight and polished! When the lights came up there was an elaborate stage with the stairs and outline lit up with track lights. In the air were three large dice made up of digital screens projecting videos to go with the songs and live feeds of the band.
Matchbox 20’s lead vocalist Rob Thomas was right out front taking command of the stage. He was dressed in a T-shirt and suit; his voice was right on the money. It was clear, strong, precise and confident! He sang with 100 percent emotion as they started the evening off with “Parade” from the September 2012 album, “North”. Next followed tunes such as “Bent”, “Disease”, She’s so Mean” and the ever popular “3 am”. Thomas has a set of eyes that had the ladies babbling about him like young school girls.
The band hosted Kyle Cook on guitar, Brian Yale on bass, Matt Beck on keyboards, powerhouse drummer Stacey Jones (formerly of Boston Pop/Punk band, American Hi-Fi) and Paul Doucette who was either dancing up a storm while playing guitar or drumming or doing both! Often many times during the same song! The musicianship of this band was brilliant and efficient!
Thomas with the flick of his arms would have the entire crowd mimicking him. Mentioning he wanted to take us back to 1996 and the band went into “Real World” followed by “If You’re Gone”. A very pro show and a delight to any Matchbox 20 fan! “Long Day” which was off their debut album (1996), “Yourself or Someone Like You”, was a cool song that followed. “I Will”. This song was a nice quiet ballad which showed off another side of the band. Other tunes like “Unwell”, “Radio”, “So Sad So Lonely”, “English Town and Bright Lights” ended off the set.
My favorite tune of the evening was “So Sad so Lonely” as this song had so much in the way of dynamics; it was brilliant, and played with stop on a dime accuracy!
Coming back to finish off their 19 song set list they performed Cyndi Lauper’s “Time after Time” ( they have been inserting different covers at this point of the shows) then, “Back 2 Good” and finally “Push”.
It was a very polite audience in a very nice venue! The Budweiser Gardens in London is a great place to see a concert. If you get a chance check out the tour and also keep an eye on www.budweisergardens.com for upcoming shows! Easy to find parking and the rates are reasonable. Special thanks to Bethany Wood of Budweiser Gardens for being a great hostess while we were there photographing and reviewing this show. And thank you to Chris Campbell for tickets with an amazing vantage point!
