jrw

A claro is a brass instrument. That's all I got.

Ah, well that would explain it then. I haven't heard the demos, so I can only go by the finished product. Unfortunately I'm not sure how much the finished versions deviate from the demos. "Shallow's Low" is a great song but the brass crescendo just ruins it for me. Does anybody know if the brass was live or was it taken from garageband? Maybe it's because I'm cognizant of Matt's usage of garageband on the previous two records that everything sounds like it came from a jam pack now; even the drums, although I'm quite sure that they were live drums.

I hate to have to disagree, but I must. I've listened to the album a few times now and, while it has grown on me, I cannot help feeling that some of the orchestration doesn't fit. "Shallows Low" is easily my favourite cut from the record but it is almost completely ruined when the brass kicks in. It sounded lame and unnecessary. I was the same way when I bought the jam packs for Garageband. Every song I recorded had to have strings, brass, piano etc. but obviously I quickly realised that it isn't needed for every song. To me, every song sounds as though there was too much thought put into it. I can fully appreciate Matt trying something new and the new sound is great for him and I will, of course, be catching him on tour but I can't reconcile the amount of brass that is on this record. I daresay I won't be listening to "Zero Orchestra" any time soon. I played it for my girlfriend last night (the person who introduced me to Matt) and she thought it was a joke track. Seriously. I don't hate the album, far from it, I suppose I didn't know what to expect with this CD. My favourite kind of Matt is Matt with an acoustic guitar and not a whole lot else.

From my first listen, I'm a little disappointed. It's a nice change sonically but there is too much brass; way too much. I take it Matt just got the jam pack on Garageband?

It's funny Matt saying that considering what his current tours are like. They're not necessarily boring musically, but the guys aren't very active on stage - I could've sworn that Milos was sleeping).

Saw them at TCU place, fantastic set - surprised at how many songs they actually played.

Precious. Loved it.

It was Vancouver heavy and I expected as much - it was a nice throwback to the '09 tour though. I'm still not really a fan of Stu but the band are tight. Tv recordings are never exemplary, but Matt sounded fine.

Love it. $25 is nothing compared to what Matt is purporting to provide. If it gives access into the recording of the next album I'll be happy to spend that money.

I liked the interview, though Matt seemed a little tired and understandably so with the tour having gone on for a month and a half. I kind of groaned at the "parasitic" statement about humans. Yes, I get it, we have the ability to destroy human lives or creations or land or whatever else, but I don't believe that we are inherently parasitic. Misanthropy is boring. I would expect such a quote from a teenager.

He played Weapon at Saskatoon as well. Sad to hear that Matt isn't talking as much anymore at shows. Also, a little off topic, but that idiot who called Matt's fans faggots is trying to sell his Massey Hall tickets for $140 EACH. http://guelph.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAd?AdId=1729...wmid=172916189#

I'm quite adept at counting, so I'm unsure of what you're trying to say here.

I'm wondering if anyone can answer this for me. Why does Matt only play through a clean channel? During say, Born Losers or Simple Explosion, it seems fitting obviously to not have his guitar filled with distortion. However, when it came to Weapon and the main riff he plays, it seemed to be on clean and kind of took away from it a little. The same with Giant and LMU and HTB et al. Even the more rockier songs seemed to be through a clean channel. Any reasoning behind this?

Agreed, the more I think about what Matt wrote the more I'm becoming angry with it. I had an incredible night because of his music, but yes, he absolutely shortened the show and I would bet we were due for one more song. This pisses me off. I paid my $65 to see an artist who I have supported via purchasing merchandise and cds and just because there are four idiots in the crowd yelling "go riders" or whatever else does not mean Matt has the right to hold back or not put in as much effort. I would warrant a guess that there are idiots in every crowd. If it was all 2-3,000 of us yelling, I could be cool with that. I was respectful and applauded after each song and wanted to hear more of Matt talking. I highly doubt that Saskatoon was the worst. I don't know about the guy or girl ripping up the seat, I wasn't there. I left when the lights went up, but if it did, that's one fucking moron Matt. The entire crowd cannot be held accountable. If he wanted a more energetic crowd, he should've played the Odeon. The place would've been packed and because everyone is standing we would've been more energetic. I went to see Metric two weeks prior to Matt at the Odeon and the atmosphere was brilliant and because of it Metric were energetic and were visibly enjoying themselves. But, in a seating theatre, are we really supposed to be energetic during a nine minute long BSOBL?! How does that create an atmosphere of excitement? Overall I'm very happy with my night out, but I don't like the implication that we're all to blame or that Saskatoon is this horrible city that artists should avoid.

I was actually hoping for a longer song, perhaps Avalanche or VNA. Something that they can really hammer out. After seeing Matt's post about Saskatoon it makes me feel utterly embarassed. I have never yelled out tracks at the band playing onstage as I myself have played live and know what set lists are and know that it isn't simply an easy case of changing it up mid set. I'm glad he said "4 out of 2,500", because that's honestly what it is. There was one guy all night who would yell and yell and yell, just random tracks (change of season?! what?!) and everyone around me was pissed off at this guy. It's irritating because Matt can simply skip Saskatoon the next time he tours if he feels the audience aren't worth it. I would say for the most part we were respectful, gave him a standing ovation and gave rapturous applause at the end of each number. It angers me that Matt feels that way because of, like he said, four idiots. There may have been more but it couldn't have been more than the same five or six people who yelled during each quiet moment. I was hoping for more banter between songs but everytime he spoke, song requests would go out. At one point he joked about it saying, "this isn't the fucking request hour" to which everyone cheered and laughed hoping to silence the fucking morons who kept yelling out. This was my first time seeing Matt and I really hope it won't be the last in Saskatoon. If Matt is reading this I hope he does realise that it was only those four or five idiots who brought us down. Everyone in my section were loving every single second of it. It was an absolutely incredible night and with my disappointment with closing with FTFI aside, I got every single fucking pennies worth. I had always understood how incredible Matt's voice is, but live it's on another level. Stu is an amazing guitarist as it's been said, the sound completely filled TCU place. So yes, it was an incredible night and I'm really sad that Matt was obviously holding back, perhaps because he has another month to go, or more likely, because he was in a bad mood due to those yelling out.

From my experience, bands will generally close with a big hitter, usually a hit single or fan favourite. To close with FTFI, it felt like there should've been one more. Perhaps it was different for everyone else, but for me I felt like the set was cut short. The song ends abruptly, and usually when bands are finishing up they'll drag it out a little bit for the big closing crescendo. I suppose I am just failing to accurately describe why it left me feeling like it did, but closing it on that note and saying "goodbye" left me feeling like there should've been at least one more. It seems the encores have been mostly three songs so I was expecting one more. FTFI is only an album track thus far and most of the people I know don't like the track. I think it's okay but I could've done without hearing it live. There was barely any banter. Matt spoke twice. After Hello Time Bomb he spoke about Stu performing at TCU and a story involving Stevie Wonder. He stopped again but was bombarded by people yelling out random tracks, "change of season", "fall of man" etc. and didn't talk after that.

Here's the list I got for Sask; Boy Who Could Explode Great Whales Of The Sea Hello Time Bomb Born Losers I'm A Window Blue Skies Over Bad Lands Silent Army Load Me Up Last Parade Weapon Apparitions Emptys Theme Park Giant Fought To Fight It Closing with FTFI? Man, left me with a bitter taste. I felt like there should've been one more. Saw Matt going from the stage door to his bus but he was hurried off and didn't acknowledge us. Lame.

Heading to the Saskatoon show tonight, will try to post the setlist after. My first time seeing Matt!

I wrote a long reply to this in the setlist thread, so I will try to keep this shorter. My problem with Matthews comment was the implication that he owes me nothing despite the support I give him through purchasing his cd's, merchandise and attending concerts, and that I seemingly have no right to question his setlist choices or my want to hear older songs that haven't been played live in a while. My problem with the current setlists are that, yes it is wonderful that I get to hear Vancouver live and it will undoubtedly blow my mind, however the rest of the set plays like a greatest hits compilation. People have said before that Matt has to play these songs for the casual fan, but realistically, how many people can that be? Matthew, to me at least, seems like an artist who has a core group of fans who, from what I can tell, absolutely immerse themselves in his music and are utterly passionate about it. Leaving out Hello Time Bomb wouldn't be a massive loss, surely? I consider myself to be a part of the core fans. I am very passionate about Matthews music and as such enjoy dreaming up fantasy setlists as many on here do. What is the harm in this? I had moderate success as a musician when I lived in the UK and any chatter about my music was greatly appreciated and was taken as complimentary. Perhaps after years of success it may grow old, but some bands don't have the opportunity or are lucky enough to have continued success in such a difficult industry. As Matt said, his music is his livelihood. Without us, he may not be enjoying the comforts he surrounds himself with currently. As trite as that may sound, I will stand by it.

Hello Yafumi, I don't have my guitar as I am not at home, however, from viewing the video it appears to be as simple as Em, C, G, D. A chord progression that has been used time and time and time and time and time again.

Firstly, allow me to preface this by saying that no matter what Matthew plays when I see him in the coming weeks, I will be satisfied. I am a huge fan of his body of work. What I do take issue with is the attitude displayed in his post. Matthew has been lucky enough to have had, and continue to have, success in the music industry and especially at a time now when it is in such dire straits. I have yet to display my opinions on the setlists for the current tour, however, I do not enjoy feeling as though if I did, the artist in question is telling me that my opinion amounts to shit and I can fuck off. Allow me to be honest. I do feel as though the sets could be longer. I have seen multiple bands this year, most of whom generally play between 17-20 songs, playing a set around the 2hr+ mark. A few of those bands cost $10, but still manage to pull out 120 minutes of music even though they are playing for less money to a smaller crowd. I understand Matthews situation is different with him not having a permanent band, but myself, and I'm sure many other musicians on here, can learn Matts songs in 10-15 minutes (I learn by ear) so I'm sure professional session musicians can do the same. That is their job. Whether or not they live in Toronto or wherever, they still have the cd's to study and any live alterations can be brought about during rehearsals. I've seen bands who have line-up changes like you wouldn't believe, but still pull out old or rare songs. If I'm paying $60 to see an artist, as I am with Matt, I reserve the right to opine on which songs I would like to see included or not. If I would love to see "Tripoli", then I am allowed to say so. If there is a song on the setlist I'd rather see removed, then I am allowed to say so. I am allowed to have fantasy setlists. The part of Matt's post I took the biggest issue with was, "I'll play whatever I fucking want". What kind of message is this for, firstly your core fans who have supported you from the ninties or new fans who are only now discovering your impressive discography. You're not playing for yourself. You're playing for your fans. Without them, you don't have a job, basically. Ultimately you choose the final setlist, but if there are a number of fans who you know yearn for certain songs, if they're paying your wage, why not do them a favour? Play it acoustic even. Anyhow, I do not wish to be disrespectful, just honest and like I said, whatever set is played when I see you, I will be happy purely out of my love of this music.