Matthew Sweet
The Belly Up Tavern
August 13, 2001
Although he’s been an alternative radio staple for over a decade, Matthew Sweet has never sold a lot of albums. His influence on the music scene however, has been enormous. One could argue that the current trend in alterna-pop is directly traceable to his seminal album, Girlfriend, an early-’90s classic.
Sweet’s the definition of a cult hero, armed with an arsenal of great songs, a distinct, twangy guitar style and, despite the lack of commercial success, a large and devoted following. So it was a boisterous and fervent packed house that greeted him at the Belly Up Tavern. With a killer four-piece backup band that also included guitarist Paul Chastain and, crucially, drummer Ric Menck (of power-pop favorites, Velvet Crush), Sweet gave a nearly 20-song career overview which included the high points of all his albums starting with Girlfriend.
To cover the expected concert review stuff: The show was loud, a few songs seemed rushed (“We’re the Same,” “Sick of Myself”), and the band really seemed to enjoy themselves.
Favorite moments? The laughter traded among the band members when Sweet broke a guitar string at the start of the first encore, “I’ve Been Waiting,” and a particularly angry sounding “Come to California.” But the set was riveting from beginning through the three-song encore. And to say the crowd was “into the show” wouldn’t do it justice — it was the gentleman at stage right checking out every guitar move, or the trio at the front happy just to be in the songwriter’s presence, or the woman behind me who got emotional during “Devil with the Green Eyes,” who made this a great show. Throughout the night, I could hear the audience singing along — despite the fact that I was standing directly in front of the bass rig and lead stack. I don’t think it’s possible to give a stronger, more positive review than that.
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