I was thinking last night that it's been almost ten years since the first time I saw Rocky Votolato and Matt Pond PA in concert (MPPA was at Kilby Court. Rocky Votolato was at DV8, or whatever it was called back then. Didn't it go through like a billion name changes? Wasn't X-scape another name? I just googled Club DV8 and found out that the club actually burned down in 2008 and the building was demolished! Wow). Almost ten years. That kind of blew my mind a little bit -- where has the time gone? It also made me think about how not every musician/band I liked in high school has stood the test of time. There's stuff that was listenable to me back then but isn't so much now (Well, to be fair, it's still listenable. It's listenable in the sense that hearing it brings back feelings of nostalgia. But if I just heard it today, with no connection to any memories or events or history, it would not make the cut). But Rocky Votolato and Matt Pond PA have stood the test of time -- I love them just as much as I did back then, if not more (as the catalog grows, you appreciate it even more in its fullness).
Matt Pond is touring as a "solo" act -- in that he's touring as Matt Pond and not with the band Matt Pond PA. However, he played (stripped down) Matt Pond PA songs and he had some friends accompany him (a lead guitar player and a cello player. I was so glad to see the cello player -- hearing MPPA songs without a cello present just seems wrong). Both Matt and Rocky played songs from several of their albums, which I really appreciated and enjoyed. It was a great sampling. Although, as I was feeling nostalgic after reflecting on the fact that it's been 9 years for Rocky (or 11 if you count Waxwing) and 11 years for Matt Pond PA since I first bought their albums, I was (selfishly) hoping they would play something from what I consider my introductory albums. While Rocky did play a few songs as far back as Suicide Medicine (LOVE that album), I was hoping he would play at least one song from Burning My Travels Clean -- that's the album that first got me into Rocky as a solo act. I would have loved to hear "Don't Walk Out On Me" or "Like Silver". Matt played stuff as far back as The Green Fury. It really took me back. Though, I was really hoping he would play "The Hollows" from Measure. That's where it all started for me. Regardless, I still loved all the songs they played. They played a lot of my favorites.
The highlight of the night was when Matt sang with Rocky on "White Daisy Passing" and Rocky sang with Matt on "New Hampshire". Both are some of my favorite songs of theirs, and to have those be the songs they sang together was such a treat.
New Hampshire
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What an amazing experience! That clip you posted is perfect - Rocky & Matt sing so well together! I wish I could have been there.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about music like Rocky & Matt Pond PA standing the test of time. There are several albums that I listen to today that I used to listen to years ago and I think: Man, I had good taste in music even in high school, middle school, even elementary school in some cases (Jewel's "Pieces of You" for example). Then there's other albums that I used to absolutely love years ago that I listen to now and think: WHAT was I thinking?! But I just appreciate those amazing albums even more as the years go by.
Thanks for sharing!
I kept thinking throughout the show "I wish Holly could have been here!"
ReplyDeleteRocky and Matt should form a duo group and put out a CD. That would be so incredibly awesome. A girl can dream!
I know, it's funny how you look back at your musical tastes throughout the years and sometimes you're impressed with your tastes and other times you're totally embarrassed (well, maybe not embarrassed, per se...but you said it best with "WHAT was I thinking?!"). For instance, some of the punk bands...hearing them today, I think "how did I once think this was a good voice?" Or "how did I not get sick of the exact same drum pattern over and over?" On the flip side, I'm completely impressed with other musical choices I made -- for instance, liking Elliott Smith in middle school. I had no idea how cool I was! ;)
We're also lucky that our parents had good taste in music and started us off with some great records at such a young age. Not everyone experiences the joys of Otis Redding, for instance, as early as we did. Thanks, mom!