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Attended.... what a one of a kind show. So fantastic to see Matt cut loose and be the hilarious, wry guy we know he can be. Jeremy Taggart did indeed show and played a 7 minute drum solo jam. Wade MacNeil also showed and got to be the human easel for a map drawing shtick that was funnier somehow than it should have been. Lucky woman took Matt's handiwork home. Setlist! (Pretty sure I got it all between belly laughs) http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/matthew-good/2014/massey-hall-toronto-on-canada-13cf2569.html

Any word on the Duncan set yet? I echo the calls for a recording of Running For Home; it's in my top five and I've never heard it live. I am dying of jealousy at even the possibility of it happening.... If I had the money, I would actually have dropped everything and flown out for all the last shows on that possibility. Of course, I'm a music addict, and a concert's a good fix ;)

I'd definitely say said description at least matches the description of substance abuse, which is a serious problem worth recommending help for. *removes social worker hat* re: meet and greets - I don't think it's Matt; it's the venues. I didn't feel rushed at all being the fourth last person of a very long line in Toronto by Matt himself or the woman helping with photos. Security was very rude shoving us out the door though, which as a woman attending solo to a show on a deserted exhibition grounds area? Not cool. I had people to walk with, and was getting my coat on and waiting for them to walk the five minutes safely to transit. But Matt's people and Matt? I felt that he was tired, but gracious. *shrug* I'm seriously contemplating Buffalo... Anyone else?

Oh I know; I've seen hundreds of concerts. Kind of an addiction. It was just SO bad and annoying last night. I have a tolerance for a certain level of noise and shouting, and last night blew over it. Honestly, if security had just grown a pair and ejected the drunk trio in the aisles, it would have been fine.

Recording? *perks up* I like that word!! The setlist is up for tonight on setlist.fm (someone beat me to it while I waited forever to meet Matt after the "hey let's have the back of the line go first now" shenanigans). Basically, Mississauga with Shallow's Low moved up and Hornets in its place. The crowd was high energy but annoyingly so - super drunk, yelling during songs like Non Populus and Rabbits (seriously, please STFU and save it for Time Bomb or Weapon). I wasn't happy because I had the "stand the fuck up!" drunken idiot right beside me in the aisle and security going back and forth with him. Last night was a better show for me by miles. Tony jamming Rick Astley made my life. I want to party with him now. I'm sad I'm done for this tour. :( I want more. VIP: wow.... super sold out and beyond.... Matt was tired when I finally made it, but very nice and sweet about what I talked to him about. He's a trooper for doing this many shows and all the VIP.

I'm row B tomorrow on the aisle - anyone near me Friday? Tonight's set! Set Me on Fire Last Parade Born Losers What if I Can't See the Stars Mildred? Zero Orchestra The Future is X-Rated Load Me Up A Silent Army in the Trees (dedicated to Scott Olsen) Non Populus Apparitions Weapon While We Were Hunting Rabbits Giant Alert Status Red Shallow's Low. I loved this set, but more importantly, my dad loved it. This show was his birthday gift and his second Matt show ever, and he said it was pretty much perfect, aside from a few Hospital Music songs he'd want. Definitely higher energy than Mississauga but he's had a break recently, so makes sense. Killed it. Army was an especially nice touch.

Love the photos!

Seriously! Don't TEASE me! That song's very dear to me; got me through my grandfather's cancer and death. I would love for it to show up in Toronto. Also: how can you possibly confuse the two songs? One's bouncy-fast and about a relationship; one's slow-ish and about death. *boggles* Re: scheduling: totally confused. Matt suggested market saturation, which I suppose is possible, and given the lousy economy right now, I know I've cut back on live shows to a degree. Still very odd.

I'm so bummed for Sarnia and Meaford people. I would be crushed if one of those was my only show. @Curtster - Totally agree that this tour, under the circumstances, has a great set all things considered... I really do wish more Vancouver and Hospital Music tracks were in the mix, though. REALLY hoping for an all-acoustic tour (and that it doesn't clash with my wedding/honeymoon, because I will follow that tour!). As for Toronto, I hope he throws in any goodies on Thursday for my dad's sake; I keep telling him to see both shows and he keeps picking the first one of two.

Bearing weight long term doesn't work for me anymore, either. I really can't win! That's what I get for attending hundreds of shows. ;) I'm a die-hard that just kept missing tours, so I'm in that weird spot of wanting to hear stuff that has long been shafted live, while still happy to hear the staples. jesse's list is filled with songs I want to hear live and wish Matt would rotate in, even acoustically. I totally agree: throw us a single bone each night! Even if it's one of 6 rotating bones, it's still variety for the die-hards (and also is a treat for ANY fan). I just don't want him to swing the other way, either, and outright stop doing a song because of its long-standing hit status. NIN did that during the Wave Goodbye tour and ditched Closer, and while yeah, it's played a LOT, I still really love that track live. It was a bummer. In my magic ideal universe (which of course does not exist!): 1. Matt would do three of the following (max) per night and rotate around: Load Me Up, Hello Time Bomb, The Future Is X-Rated, Everything Is Automatic, Apparitions, Weapon, Alert Status Red, Born Losers. I'd also say Strange Days here too, but since it's become an acoustic song, it's different. That's 8 big hit songs that a die-hard with 15 shows under his or her belt may not want to hear as often, but doing a max of 3 allows a sprinkling and also variety. Right now, I've noticed that if a set has Time Bomb, I tend to always hear Load Me Up or X-Rated that night, and while I don't mind, I see how that predictability gets tiresome. 2. Matt would do one or two acoustics a night, mid-set. Pick 6 'easy to play' tunes that are lesser-played, polish them up, rotate them in. Rabbits is wonderful this tour! Strange Days could come in here. Fated. Fine Art. Alabama Motel Room. Tripoli. SWW even. Just make it the routine. Again, adds a little more Russian Roulette surprise to the setlist. 3. It's okay to tour an album and not make half the set said album. Just sayin'. Not everyone makes every tour. I missed the Avalanche tour entirely. I apparently will never hear 90% of that album live ever now. :( I would love to see a song from every/most albums each night for variety and also, juxtaposition. I thought this tour's version of Rabbits sounded amazing sliding into Lights. New combinations that add richness and meaning can only happen when there's a mix. I know a lot of this is affected by costs, rehearsal time, the fact Matt is solo and not in a built-in band that knows everything like he does. I'm accepting and okay with it. But in my dream world, we could see a set like this on this tour (and I would meltdown in joy): 1. Rabbits (piano) 2. LOES 3. Automatic 4. Weapon 5. Tripoli (acoustic) 6. Fine Art (acoustic) 7. Change of Season (c'mon! we have PIANO! why is this not being taken advantage of?) 8. Mildred 9. Zero Orchestra 10. The Future is X-Rated 11. SWW 12. Champions of Nothing 13. Buffalo Seven 14. Empty's Theme Park All over the damn place, a little of everything, 3/9 new tracks, still has a few commercial hits for the casual fans/few shows seen crowd. The next night of this imaginary dream tour, he could swap in Time Bomb and Born Losers for the 'hits', do Sort of a Protest Song and Strange Days solo, maybe bust our Carmelina and Put Out Your Lights.... You can't teach a band a catalogue this big in a few weeks, but if teach one or two per old album and half the newest one.... It's feasible. Or at least, I'll dream that it is!

Massey is also brutal - I hate it, too. I have early-onset arthritis among other things (from a mosh pit disaster in 2000, funny enough), and my knee was so jammed, it started shuddering violently last night. Then again, Massey was built a very long time ago, whereas LAC was built in 1994 and well, the general population was bigger overall, so what the hell? I was SO annoyed by the ushers - their flashlights were distracting me in the dress circle far more than the cameras. And the one who made people sit during Giant? IT'S A ROCK SHOW. It's the encore, who cares? Is fun against the LAC rules? I really wish Matt would bust out more MGB non-singles, even acoustic and solo. I am doomed to never hear Change of Season. I haven't heard Symbolistic White Walls since my first show. It might make a nice change to do Everything is Automatic more and Load me Up less, or bust out Alabama Motel Room for variety. Tripoli acoustic, anyone? I do hope he does an acoustic tour soon, and takes such thoughts to heart. I'm also bummed at the lack of Hospital Music tunes this tour, and the absence of Vancouver National Anthem. I still love Apparitions - I will never ever tire of it. It's like Precious Things by Tori Amos: she's played that at like, 26 of the 33 shows I've seen, but I never tire of hearing it. Weapon is one of my favourites, and maybe it's the number of shows I've seen comparatively, but I've only heard it 4 times live? I think? I was really happy to hear it again. This is sort of the catch-22 artists face as their catalogue grows: long-time fans, particularly those who will see multiple shows, start to tire of long-standing hits, but forget that new fans, or fans that just never get to see shows, really want to hear that song. Matt's trying to make everyone happy. My dad has been a fan since Beautiful Midnight and has seen Matt live ONCE because he's disabled and GA shows and many venues are out for him. His first show was the first Toronto show on the Vancouver tour and he was disappointed not to hear more old tunes, like Hello Time Bomb, Alert Status Red, Weapon... In any case, my meandering thoughts TL; DR to this: the price we pay for seeing many shows is perhaps souring on old hits, but not everyone has the ability to see many shows. I try and remember that when Tori Amos plays Cornflake Girl for the 28th time for me and some people squeal in excitement, because it's show number four for them. :) (Songs I'm sick of live by Matt, though: Avalanche; Blue Skies Over Badlands; Great Whales Of The Sea)

14 songs felt fine - but only because they're such long songs.... He played what, an hour and forty-something last night? Considering how long this tour is and the meet and greet time, if that's what it takes for him to keep as healthy as possible, I support it. Of course, I am greedy and as a fan, would love to hear two or three more short songs a night (Carmelina, Put Out Your Lights, most anything from WLRRR except Blue Skies, which I'm so bored of live), but I appreciate what Matt's doing. Changing up band personnel right before tour also screws things up, I think. He COULD do a solo song a night, like Fine Art of Falling Apart (really want to hear this one, but doubt I will this tour). And I agree - the lights were BRIGHT. I was up in the dress circle and getting blinded by them frequently.

I got my package for next week's Toronto gig YESTERDAY and that was expedited shipping. Don't panic yet. What shipping did you choose? MISSISSAUGA SETLIST! While We Were Hunting Rabbits Lights of Endangered Species The Boy Who Could Explode Born Losers What If I Can't See The Stars, Mildred? Zero Orchestra Load Me Up Hello Time Bomb Non Populus Apparitions Weapon Giant Set Me On Fire Shallow's Low This was my first of this tour, and it was a really awesome set to start off on. Rabbits gave me the chills - I kinda never want to hear it with the band now, to be honest. I love the solo piano. It was the set I predicted for this city: lots of MGB material, singles focus, and that's not a bad thing at all. I hadn't heard Weapon in a while live, so that was awesome. There are songs I'd still like to hear, but I've got two more shows this tour, maybe three if the Mr. gets impetuous and we head out to Oshawa. Matt was very chatty tonight, too. After Explode, the band jammed out a very funk-ish piece they were "working on earlier"... I feel like I should be able to name it, but just can't get it. Anyone else know what it was? Matt then reacted to a guy shouting random things by telling us of the mind process of the 'random shouter' and how he never hears what they say, anyway. This somehow led to chat of old earpieces and wedges? It was so random. After Bomb, he started teasing the guitarist about how he'd jumped ahead a song. "I can't see anything without bending right over, but you have perfect vision... What's your excuse?" To the band's credit, it was seamless - I had no idea they'd gone out of order at all. Matt then tried to get the bassist's dad on stage to take over so he could take a break, then quipped about if the mall was closed, because he wanted to get 'things from The Gap'. This evolved into a discussion of his love of v-necks, Catholic school nuns caning him in a v-neck, him setting fire to a garbage can to escape Catholic school ("in grade one"), and is best summed up with this: "Strange how the association goes: caning by a nun; v-neck; that's a good look!" I hope video surfaces, but doubt it; the ushers were awful. They even made people sit down during Giant and were constantly waving their little flashlights at photo takers. It was ridiculous. The seats were also the opposite of comfortable. Good thing the show was great and distracted me!

Ah, but us VIP folk got the signed litho (retail value $25) and a t-shirt (I don't know, $25 or $30? Tonight's my first one this tour). So for an extra $39, there's the M&G and those goodies, PLUS the seat. I think it's a sweet deal, and considering my usually lousy luck for tickets, I was happy to spoil myself this tour (2nd row is fine by me!). They definitely didn't hold all of them back, though; I snagged fifth row for my dad, brother and I at a Toronto show from general onsale. I'm actually happy they didn't hold them all; it's more fair to fans who just couldn't afford VIP. Long time lurker, btw. Hi! For the Twitter-savvy, I'll be live-tweeting the Mississauga set if signal holds. I'll hashtag it as #mglac :) For another artist I follow, we coordinate live-tweeting of sets so those at home can see what's happening (or not happening).